PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

National Audit Office: Aviation

Francis Maude: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how many tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were offset by the National Audit Office in 2006-07 for air flights.

Alan Williams: The National Audit Office has a green travel plan which encourages staff to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by considering their travel options and choosing environmentally friendly modes of transport when travelling to clients and to and from work. The Office also uses teleconferencing facilities which further reduce the need for travel.
	The office does not currently purchase carbon offsets for its air or other travel and therefore offset no carbon dioxide in 2006-07.
	The Office has recently awarded new contracts for the provision of travel services. These arrangements will provide improved data on the level of carbon emissions incurred by the Office and enable exploration of options to reduce emissions.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Expenditure

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what public expenditure on the arts in Wantage constituency in each year since 1997 was.

Margaret Hodge: The Arts Council has provided £239,633 in lottery funding, as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997-98 25,600 
			 1998-99 — 
			 1999-2000 29,250 
			 2000-01 41,371 
			 2001-02 106,005 
			 2002-03 — 
			 2003-04 9,995 
			 2004-05 — 
			 2005-06 — 
			 2006-07 23,000 
			 2007-08 4,412

Creative Britain Apprenticeships

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to ensure the availability of Creative Britain apprenticeships throughout the country.

Margaret Hodge: My Department is already working with employers, sector skills councils, Trade Associations, the Learning and Skills Council and other Government Departments to ensure the provision of high quality places. For example, Creative and Cultural Skills are currently developing proposals for apprentices in live events and promotion, music business (recording industry), technical theatre (rigging, lighting and sound), costume and wardrobe, cultural and heritage venue operation and community arts.
	The provision of apprenticeship places is a devolved matter. However the Sector Skills Councils, who engage with employers, operate within a UK wide context. Creative and Cultural Skills and sector skills councils for example, are in discussions with the Scottish Government to ensure that creative apprenticeships are developed in Scotland, based on employer demand.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agency The Royal Parks, for the past 12 months, is contained in the table.
	
		
			  DCMS  Administrative/secretarial  Junior/middle managers  Senior interim managers 
			 Monthly average number of staff 15 1 7 
			 Average hourly rate (£) 13.28 30 115 
			 
			 Royal Parks
			 Monthly average number of staff 11 1 0 
			 Average hourly rate (£) 14.06 36.25 0 
		
	
	A more detailed breakdown could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

National Lottery: Finance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what proportion of the cost of each national lottery ticket bought online goes towards  (a) prize money,  (b) good causes,  (c) lottery duty,  (d) operating costs and  (e) profit for the national lottery operator;
	(2)  how the money received from national lottery tickets sold online is apportioned into  (a) prize money,  (b) good causes,  (c) lottery duty,  (d) operating costs and  (e) profit for the national lottery operator.

Gerry Sutcliffe: National lottery ticket sales revenue is liable to lottery duty which is set by HM Treasury, currently at 12 per cent. The terms of the second licence to operate the lottery govern the way in which the remainder of the revenue is apportioned among prize money, good causes, retailer commissions and operator retentions (from which costs and profits are met). The second licence does not provide for this apportionment to be calculated on a game by game or sales channel by sales channel basis (the licence can be viewed on the National Lottery Commission website: www.natlotcomm. gov.uk <http://www.natlotcomm.gov.uk>). In particular, all relevant games are aggregated when calculating the appropriate contributions to the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) and Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund (OLDF).

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Members: Offices

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1227W, on office facilities, how much was paid in office rent by hon. Members to each registered political party in 2006-07.

Helen Goodman: According to the Department for Resources, the figures for 2006-07 are as follows:
	
		
			  Party  Amount paid (£) 
			 Conservative Party 737,995 
			 Democratic Unionist Party 3,375 
			 Labour Party 376,975 
			 Liberal Democrats 186,682 
			 Plaid Cymru 8,440 
			 Scottish National Party 19,941 
			 Total 1,333,408

NORTHERN IRELAND

Drugs: Children

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children under the age of 16 years were arrested for possession of Class  (a) A,  (b) B and  (c) C drugs in each district command unit in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The following table details the number of children under the age of 16 years arrested for possession of Class A, B and C drugs, in each district command unit in each of the last five years.
	As one person can be arrested for multiple offences, adding together the total number of persons arrested under each category does not equal the total number of persons arrested.
	Cannabis was reclassified from Class B to Class C on 29 January 2004, hence the decrease of Class B and the increase of Class C arrests for the period 2004-07.
	
		
			   2002 - 03  2003 - 04  2004 - 05  2005-06  200 6 -07 
			   A  B  C  A  B  C  A  B  C  A  B  C  A  B  C 
			 Antrim 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Ards 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 East Belfast 0 2 0 0 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 North Belfast 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 South Belfast 0 11 0 0 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 0 0 3 
			 West Belfast 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 
			 Carrickfergus 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Castlereagh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Larne 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lisburn 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 2 
			 Newtownabbey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Down 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 
			 Urban 4 24 0 0 17 1 0 0 15 0 0 19 3 0 11 
			 
			 Armagh 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Banbridge 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Ballymena 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 2 0 3 
			 Ballymoney 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Coleraine 0 1 0 1 4 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Cookstown 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 
			 Craigavon 0 3 0 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 6 3 0 1 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Down 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Fermanagh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Foyle 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 
			 Limavady 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 5 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Moyle 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Omagh 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rural 1 14 1 4 21 5 3 0 19 1 0 23 7 0 13

Drugs: Crime

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were arrested for dealing in Class  (a) A,  (b) B and  (c) C drugs in each district command unit in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The following table sets out the number of persons arrested for dealing in Class A, B and C drugs in each district command unit in each of the last five years.
	As one person can be arrested for multiple offences, adding together the total number of persons arrested under each category does not equal the total number of persons arrested.
	Cannabis was reclassified from Class B to Class C on 29 January 2004, hence the decrease of Class B and the increase of Class C arrests for the period 2004-07.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			   A  B  C  A  B  C  A  B  C  A  B  C  A  B  C 
			 Antrim 6 2 0 7 8 2 4 0 2 4 3 8 10 6 9 
			 Ards 3 5 2 3 14 0 0 2 1 2 1 5 5 0 7 
			 East Belfast 5 5 2 3 15 2 3 0 8 8 0 5 5 1 24 
			 North Belfast 7 12 0 11 9 3 2 1 13 11 0 14 25 1 31 
			 South Belfast 1 12 0 10 17 1 10 1 19 17 0 14 26 1 20 
			 West Belfast 3 4 0 1 1 1 2 0 7 2 2 9 14 1 16 
			 Carrickfergus 0 1 0 5 10 1 2 2 5 1 1 2 1 0 1 
			 Castlereagh 2 5 7 3 20 2 1 1 6 2 0 6 5 1 6 
			 Larne 2 1 0 2 7 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 1 0 2 
			 Lisburn 4 11 2 6 15 4 12 0 36 10 0 17 12 1 14 
			 Newtownabbey 1 3 0 6 9 0 0 0 3 1 1 11 4 0 6 
			 North Down 2 6 0 5 9 2 6 1 18 6 0 10 5 0 3 
			 Urban 36 67 13 62 134 18 42 8 119 67 8 102 113 12 139 
			 Armagh 1 3 0 9 2 1 1 0 4 5 3 15 1 0 1 
			 Banbridge 2 4 0 4 7 5 0 0 3 1 0 2 2 0 2 
			 Ballymena 4 9 0 4 4 1 13 9 10 8 3 7 11 0 8 
			 Ballymoney 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 
			 Coleraine 15 13 0 9 23 3 17 1 6 18 0 7 28 2 19 
			 Cookstown 1 2 0 9 5 4 1 0 0 2 2 1 7 1 9 
			 Craigavon 3 4 2 12 9 1 8 0 9 5 0 9 5 2 5 
			 Dungannon and S Tyrone 0 2 0 4 3 1 1 0 4 6 0 2 12 0 6 
			 Down 0 6 0 2 4 0 4 1 4 1 0 10 2 2 3 
			 Fermanagh 2 1 0 1 5 4 3 2 9 4 0 4 3 0 1 
			 Foyle 2 2 0 8 14 0 12 5 15 11 2 12 14 2 9 
			 Limavady 3 7 1 2 3 2 1 0 4 1 3 12 0 5 17 
			 Magherafelt 1 5 1 2 4 3 3 1 12 1 1 3 1 2 2 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 
			 Newry and Mourne 0 3 1 1 5 5 0 1 3 3 0 2 8 0 5 
			 Omagh 2 2 0 1 6 1 12 0 12 2 2 6 6 2 9 
			 Strabane 0 1 0 3 4 6 3 0 1 3 0 6 2 0 5 
			 Rural 36 64 5 71 98 37 79 20 97 71 16 100 102 20 111

Repossession Orders

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes were repossessed in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	Repossessions following a court order are dealt with by the Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO) of the Northern Ireland Court Service.
	The following table sets out the number of repossession applications lodged with EJO and the number which have been resolved by way of eviction over the last five years.
	
		
			   Repossession applications lodged with EJO  Repossession applications finalised by way of eviction 
			 2003 914 152 
			 2004 945 200 
			 2005 972 188 
			 2006 1,002 184 
			 2007 923 128 
			 Total 4,756 852 
		
	
	In addition to those cases in which the EJO repossess the property and give vacant possession to the applicant, a larger number of cases are resolved by agreement reached between the parties or where the occupant vacates the property voluntarily.

WALES

National Assembly

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on bringing forward legislative proposals to increase the number of Members of the National Assembly for Wales.

Paul Murphy: None.

Economic Inactivity

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on economic inactivity in Wales.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the First Minister on all issues affecting Wales, including the economy and employment.

Child Poverty

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on measures in Budget 2008 designed to address child poverty in Wales.

Paul Murphy: The excellent measures announced by the Chancellor in his Budget will underpin our commitment to halve child poverty by 2010 and totally eradicate child poverty by 2020.

Flood Defences

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Minister on the condition of flood defences in Wales.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Regular discussions take place with the First Minister on such matters. The Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities and the Environment Agency are actively involved in flood defence planning within Wales.

Research Funding

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills on UK Government funding for research in Wales.

Paul Murphy: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to discuss a variety of issues affecting Wales.
	Welsh universities have a vital role to play in meeting the challenges of the future, not only in increasing the knowledge economy of the region but also in encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation.

Cross-border Health Services

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on consultation on cross-border health service issues.

Huw Irranca-Davies: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government on these matters. These discussions include the protocol currently in place to underpin cross-border health delivery arrangements.

Offender Management

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on offender management in Wales.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government remain committed to ensuring efficient offender management. We have committed a further £40 million towards more effective community sentences; are providing increased prison capacity with an extra £1.2 billion to deliver a further and extended building programme that will create 15,000 places in England and Wales by 2014, 330 of which will be at Parc Prison in Bridgend by 2011.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Co-operatives

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response he plans to make to the French proposal to strengthen agricultural sectors by promoting co-operative organisations.

Jonathan R Shaw: The French proposals were discussed under any other business at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting on 17 March. I expressed interest in exploring ideas about how farmers could be competitive in global markets through greater collaboration, but did not share the French conclusions about the need for new EU measures.

Animal Welfare

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what codes of practice outlined in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 his Department is working; and when they are expected to be published.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is not yet available as the departmental business planning process for the forthcoming financial year has still to be finalised.

Animal Welfare

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the size was of the Departmental team dealing with codes of practice relevant to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005,  (c) 2006 and  (d) 2007; and what the size of the team is now.

Jonathan R Shaw: Precise figures for the number of staff working on codes of practice are difficult to estimate as this work does not require full-time input from staff. However, work on an individual code of practice under the Animal Welfare Act typically involves the input of one veterinary adviser and one higher executive officer plus administrative support.

Animals: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements there are to deal with circumstances where a devolved Administration disagrees with his Department's policy or actions in the event of an animal disease outbreak.

Jonathan R Shaw: Disease control functions are a devolved matter, but DEFRA and the devolved Administrations all work to EU rules. This aligns our policies and minimises any serious differences. During an animal disease outbreak, consultations and discussions take place at all levels to ensure that coherent and effective measures operate across the UK.

Bees

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of queen bees which have been imported in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 1 April 2008
	Importers of queen bees from third countries are required to notify DEFRA about the intended import and then must send the cages and accompanying worker bees to the National Bee Unit for analysis. In the last three calendar years DEFRA was notified of the following imports of queens:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 2,385 
			 2006 2,435 
			 2007 3,097

Bees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the UK bee population  (a) in each year since 1997 and  (b) in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: On the basis of the number of colonies estimated by ADAS in their 2001 survey, there are around 273,000 managed honey bee colonies in the UK. In population terms, there are approximately 5 billion honey bees in winter (20,000 per colony), rising to some 16 billion in the summer (60,000 per colony). Numbers of colonies may have declined in recent years. The numbers in each of the next 10 years will depend on the number of beekeepers and their stockmanship and colony husbandry skills, including effective pest and disease management. No estimate has been made of the numbers of bumble bees or solitary bees etc.

Bees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has received a research plan from Rothamstead and Warwick Horticulture Research International on bee health; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has not received any such research plan. Short descriptions of two research projects proposed by the two organisations were included in a "Beekeeping Research" paper produced by the British Beekeepers' Association.

Bees: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he expects the small hive beetle to become a threat to UK beehives; what measures he is taking to prevent the small hive beetle entering the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The possibility of the small hive beetle arriving in the UK is a recognised threat to the health of honey bees. To help mitigate this threat, DEFRA has developed a contingency plan in consultation with stakeholders. Additionally, DEFRA is funding research into a "lure and kill" monitoring system for rapid deployment should the beetle be detected. To promote early detection, publicity material has been distributed to help raise individual beekeepers' awareness of the risk. Plant health import inspectors and horticultural marketing inspectors have also been alerted, as one possible entry pathway is imported fruit. DEFRA is also pressing the European Commission to introduce tighter contingency arrangements to reduce the risk of spread should the beetle be introduced into another member state.

Bees: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of threats to the UK bee population; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The importance of the contribution of honey bees to sustainable agriculture is well recognised. For this reason, DEFRA continues to fund a programme of controls and education for beekeepers through the National Bee Unit and the Bee Inspectorate. To further this, work DEFRA will shortly be consulting on a draft Bee Health strategy. The main aim of the strategy will be to focus future action by both DEFRA and other key stakeholders, especially individual beekeepers, on the main threats facing our honey bees.

Bees: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many beehives were damaged by the varroa mite in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: By 1995 virtually all apiaries in England had some degree of varroa infestation. While there may be colonies in isolated areas, which have yet to be infested by varroa, the pest is virtually ubiquitous. Every colony is damaged by varroa to varying degrees once it becomes infested. Uncontrolled it will kill colonies and that is why it is important for beekeepers to understand the biology of the mite, know the levels of varroa populations and how to treat their colonies to keep the mite below damage thresholds.

Bees: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent the spread of the varroa mite; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Despite the implementation of an extensive control programme, varroa is now endemic and is no longer notifiable under EC law. However, while it cannot be completely eradicated, beekeepers can keep productive bees despite its presence, providing they operate effective controls The best way of tackling varroa is by means of a careful programme of integrated pest management and DEFRA has published detailed advice for beekeepers on this. Experience has shown that it is effective.
	A comprehensive advisory leaflet is available from the National Bee Unit.
	The Bee Health Strategy, which will shortly be published for consultation, will address the issue of varroa and whether control should have greater priority compared, for example, to threats for exotic pests.

Bees: Diseases

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on bee colony collapse;
	(2)  what recent research he has commissioned into colony collapse disease affecting bees; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA is aware of the press reports last year about the serious situation in the USA in respect of cases of abnormally high levels of colony loss, described as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). While some common factors have been identified, such as high levels of Israeli Paralysis Virus, the cause of colony collapse has yet to be identified.
	Scientists and inspectors at DEFRA's National Bee Unit (NBU) are continuing to monitor the situation in the USA. To date, we do not have evidence to suggest that there is something similar happening in the UK.
	The limited cases of high losses which occur here, for which there is no ready explanation such as poor management or failure to control the varroa mite, are investigated in depth as part of the NBU's horizon-scanning work.

National Bee Unit: Finance

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding he proposes to provide to the National Bee Unit in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what allocations were made to future funding for bee health in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 1 April 2008
	Detailed allocations have still to be finalised. The expectation is that funding for DEFRA's ongoing programme of support for bee health will be around the same level as previously. In the event of a need to respond to new serious threats, there are contingency arrangements in place for additional funding to be made available.

Bluetongue Disease

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likelihood of cases of bluetongue arising in 2008 and subsequent years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likelihood of bluetongue overwintering in the UK.

Jonathan R Shaw: Bluetongue disease is spread from animal to animal by midges. During the winter, midge activity is at its lowest, and low temperatures mean that the virus is unlikely to replicate in the midges. As temperatures increase and midges become more active, it is likely that disease will re-emerge this year.
	Experiences in northern Europe in 2007 showed that the virus reappeared in spring, with clinical cases being observed in June/July. Given our similar climate, we are preparing on the basis of a similar scenario in the UK this year.
	The implementation of a vaccination programme could significantly reduce bluetongue virus circulation and limit its geographical distribution, contributing to its control and potential eradication at some point in the future. However, the future is uncertain and it is acknowledged that the UK may have to live with the threat of bluetongue for some time to come.
	Further information about our control and vaccination strategy is available on the DEFRA website.

Bluetongue Disease

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects a bluetongue vaccination programme to begin.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA placed an order with pharmaceutical company Intervet to supply 22.5 million doses of BTV-8 vaccine for use in England and Wales. Intervet has indicated that the first batches of vaccine are expected for delivery in May 2008.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Finance

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer,  (b) other Treasury Ministers and  (c) Treasury civil servants on funding for tackling bovine tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: There have been no recent discussions with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, other Treasury Ministers or officials on funding for tackling bovine TB.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Finance

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make a cost-benefit assessment of the cattle-based control options recommended by the Independent Scientific Group on bovine tuberculosis;
	(2)  when he will make a substantive response to the recent Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Report on the final report of the Independent Scientific Group on bovine tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: We are grateful to both the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee for their respective reports on bovine TB.
	We are committed to making decisions on bovine TB control policies for the future which are based on the evidence available. There is a great deal to consider in the ISG and Select Committee's reports concerning both cattle-based TB control measures and the potential role of badger culling in controlling TB in cattle.
	Once we have made a decision on the way forward we will respond to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

Cattle

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1123W, on cattle, if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number and proportion of cows in the national herd which are being kept in zero-grazed conditions.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are currently no plans to collect such information.

Climbing

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the contribution to the rural economy of  (a) mountaineering and  (b) hill walking.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has not specifically assessed the contribution to the rural economy of hill walking or mountaineering. However, Natural England has published the results of a survey of leisure day visits in England in 2005 and these do provide an estimate of the value of walking, hill walking and rambling in rural areas. The estimated value, in 2005, of walking, hill walking and rambling in the countryside and along the coast was £1.325 billion.
	Not all of this expenditure was made in the rural economy as, for example, many of the visits started from urban areas and involved spend on petrol and ticket fares. Also, this figure does not include overnight spend on accommodation, or spend by overseas visitors. Although mountaineering activity was captured in this survey, the numbers of participants interviewed as part of the telephone survey of 46,000 households was too low to make a statistically reliable estimate of spending specifically associated with this activity.

Youth Hostels: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department gave to capital infrastructure projects for youth hostels in each of the last 30 years.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA was created in June 2001 and it does not have responsibility or provide direct funding for youth hostels.

Ivory: Trade

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to oppose the application from China to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to become a trading partner for the agreed ivory stockpiles; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Trading nation status can only be granted once all the conditions contained in Conference Resolution 10.10 (Rev14) have been complied with. The UK, along with our EU colleagues, will be looking at all information relevant to those conditions before coming to any conclusions. We will take into account all the information available to us, including that from Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Secretariat visits, third country visits and reports from non-governmental organisations, before taking any decision to approve or oppose China as a trading partner.

Laboratories: Capital Investment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what capital funding was provided for  (a) Pirbright and  (b) Weybridge laboratories in the last five years; and what future capital funding is planned.

Jonathan R Shaw: Under a ministerial agreement made with the then Department of Trade and Industry, now the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, DEFRA agreed to provide a total of £67 million capital grant in aid funding during the period 2004-13 for the redevelopment of the Institute of Animal Health laboratory and Pirbright. To date the value of the funding DEFRA has provided is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 1,195,000 
			 2005-06 3,700,000 
			 2006-07 6,300,000 
			 2007-08 6,537,000 
		
	
	DEFRA capital funding for the Veterinary Laboratories Agency located at Weybridge for the last five years and estimated funding for the current and future years is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 32,164,000 
			 2004-05 16,993,000 
			 2005-06 20,419,000 
			 2006-07 18,034,000 
			 2007-08 (1)19,000,000 
			 2008-09 (1)10,000,000 
			 2009-10 (1)2,000,000 
			 2010-11 (1)2,000,000 
			 (1)( )Estimated

Landfill

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was sent to landfill outside the region of origin in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by region of reception.

Joan Ruddock: The following tables provide data on inter-regional movements of waste for disposal to landfill in 2006, which is the most current data set available. The data relate to all types of waste deposited in landfill, including inert, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.
	Environment Agency data come from site input returns provided by landfill operators. Providing information on the origin of waste is not mandatory. This is reflected in the 'not codeable' column, which shows the quantity of waste that does not have an identified origin.
	The data only report on inputs from Scotland, Northern Ireland and 'Outside UK' since the Environment Agency does not have comparable information on deposits in those areas.
	
		
			  Inter-regional movements of waste for landfill disposal in 2006 
			   Origin of waste (from site input returns) 
			  Deposit region  North East  North West  Yorkshire and Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East of England  London  South East 
			 North East *3,796,851 38,455 365,653 16,632 7,346 59,985 3,472 11,237 
			 North West 129 *5,925,901 466 12,228 85,647 — — 68 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 28,834 508,257 *4,471,149 625,346 172 36 5 87 
			 East Midlands 268 34,273 205,857 *4,516,410 28,726 196,988 118,775 25,671 
			 West Midlands — 3,550 — 179,493 *3,044,608 — 1,801 2,037 
			 East of England 179 536 2,868 188,699 13,150 *7,020,162 2,858,121 655,428 
			 London 29 25 14 5 543 275,983 *1,419,923 259,294 
			 South East — 50 54 22,828 201 153,720 2,257,928 *7,236,433 
			 South West — 8 10 1 66,811 23 1,412 137,592 
			 Wales — 111,192 13 — 16,038 — 7 3 
			 Total 3,826,290 6,622,246 5,046,085 5,561,643 3,263,244 7,706,897 6,661,444 8,327,851 
			 Total exports 29,439 696,344 574,937 1,045,233 218,635 686,734 5,241,521 1,091,418 
			 Percentage home deposits 99 89 89 81 93 91 21 87 
		
	
	
		
			   Origin of waste (from site input returns)
			  Deposit region  South West  Wales  Scotland  Northern Ireland  Outside UK  Not codeable  Total  Percentage un-coded 
			 North East 8,709 5,064 16,461 5,086 149,210 361,406 4,845,567 7 
			 North West — 25,432 14 29 — 3,458,760 9,508,675 36 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 48 56 10 — 227 1,157,114 6,791,339 17 
			 East Midlands 853 899 70 49 159 1,846,937 6,975,935 26 
			 West Midlands 3,098 6,753 — — — 2,533,322 5,774,663 44 
			 East of England 1,524 278 227 — 75 456,212 11,197,459 4 
			 London 17 — — — — 21,384 1,977,218 1 
			 South East 363,141 — — — — 1,944,754 11,979,108 16 
			 South West *5,447,675 109,469 — — — 123,987 5,886,990 2 
			 Wales 5,826 *3,886,036 — — — — 4,019,116 0 
			 Total 5,830,892 4,033,986 16,781 5,164 149,671 11,903,876 68,956,070 17 
			 Total exports 383,217 147,950 — — — — — — 
			 Percentage home deposits 93 96 — — — — — — 
			  Notes: Movements from one region to another can be read from the grid. Inputs to sites in North East from other regions are located along the top row, and exports from North East to other regions are shown in the left hand column.  Waste that is produced and deposited in the same region ('home deposits') are indicated by '*'.  Source: Environment Agency Operator Site Returns

Packaging

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the whole-life carbon footprint of  (a) paper and  (b) plastic bags.

Joan Ruddock: The Environment Agency is carrying out a study to consider the environmental impacts of a range of carrier bags (including disposable plastic carrier bags and bio-degradable alternatives) over their entire life cycle, from raw material extraction through to product manufacture, use and final disposal. The study is due to report later this year.

Recycling: Finance

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was provided to local authorities to support recycling activities in each year since 1997.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The main sources of funding for local authorities' waste management services are revenue support grant (RSG) and national non-domestic rates (NNDR), distributed by central Government, and council tax. It is for local authorities to decide what proportion of this funding to invest in waste management services, including recycling. Other funding made available to authorities in England for waste management since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Funding provided 
			  £ million 
			  Scheme  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund 50 90 90 45 — — 
			 Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant — — — 40 105 110 
			 Grant to Relieve Spending Pressures on Waste — — 20 — — — 
			 Reward Only Incentive Pilots — — — 5 — — 
			 Private Finance Initiative 70 100 125 130 255 280 
			 Local Communications Fund (WRAP) — — 16.2 — — — 
			 Behavioural Change Local Fund (WRAP) — — — — 13 —

Seals: Hunting

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the European Food Safety Authority's December 2007 report on the animal welfare aspects of seal hunting.

Jonathan R Shaw: Seal management is a devolved matter. My Department has noted the findings and recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority's December 2007 report Animal Welfare Aspects of the killing and skinning of seals.
	There is no commercial or recreational hunting of seals in England. Government policy is to permit only limited local management of seals where specific interactions between individual seals and particular fisheries or fish farms may result in serious damage to fisheries or property.
	The Government fully implement the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive, including prohibiting the use of certain methods of killing seals. The limited seal management undertaken is broadly in line with the relevant general recommendations of the EFSA report.

Sugar: Subsidies

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has accepted the application by British Sugar for restructuring aid to the sugar industry in respect of the proportion of aid to be distributed to the contractor industry.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The application for restructuring aid submitted by British Sugar has been determined to be eligible and the European Commission informed. The proportion of the processor's aid to be reserved for beet growers and machinery contractors affected by the restructuring is set by the appropriate Council regulation at 10 per cent. How this part of the aid is allocated between the two groups is for individual member states to decide on the basis of objective criteria determined after consultation with the interested parties.
	DEFRA is urgently taking this forward. Eligible beet growers will also share in an additional payment in respect of the tonnage of beet quota renounced.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aerials

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many mobile phone companies share masts; what arrangements are in place to encourage mobile phone companies to share masts; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The five UK mobile network operators all participate in mast sharing arrangements with each other and with other companies such as Arqiva, which owns a number of sites.
	Planning Policy Guidance Note 8: Telecommunications makes clear that applicants for new masts should provide evidence that they have explored the possibility of erecting antennas on an existing building, mast or other structure and that such evidence should accompany any prior approval or planning application made to the local planning authority. If the evidence regarding the consideration of sharing existing masts and sites is not considered satisfactory, the planning authority, or the Secretary of State on appeal, may be justified in refusing prior approval or planning permission for the development. Site sharing may not always be possible or the most appropriate environmental solution in every case. The ability to site share may be limited by a range of possible factors including the extent of the coverage required, topographical features and reception interference issues.
	The mobile operators have established a computer program which monitors site-share usage and is used for making site-share requests between each other.

Arson

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many deliberate  (a) property and  (b) vehicle fires were attended by each fire and rescue service in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the number of deliberate property (i.e. dwellings and other buildings) and vehicle fires, in England, as attended by Fire and Rescue Services, from 1997 to 2006 (the latest calendar year for which information is available), is displayed in Table 1. Data for 2006 are provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			  Table 1: Deliberate fires( 1)  by year and location, England, 1997 to 2006( 2) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			  FRS area  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles 
			  England 26,221 35,162 24,357 40,090 25,472 51,888 25,487 58,979 27,653 67,158 
			
			  England—Non-Met counties 12,763 17,519 12,131 20,505 12,471 26,564 12,867 30,701 14,125 34,545 
			 Avon 448 887 411 1,158 435 1,669 513 2,057 600 2,540 
			 Bedfordshire 261 513 247 533 225 727 246 964 221 865 
			 Berkshire 256 509 213 561 203 720 237 865 244 944 
			 Buckinghamshire 307 562 269 653 279 808 299 890 268 1,033 
			 Cambridgeshire 303 504 316 537 319 827 309 880 315 813 
			 Cheshire 513 432 471 567 472 619 518 667 532 946 
			 Cleveland 615 571 523 755 607 1,125 655 1,207 690 1,483 
			 Cornwall 117 178 147 162 107 169 137 237 158 310 
			 Cumbria 216 300 188 344 252 372 193 430 247 380 
			 Derbyshire 328 507 324 567 336 805 310 802 322 942 
			 Devon 379 443 308 462 342 499 298 556 392 614 
			 Dorset 250 286 206 317 231 401 227 493 256 589 
			 Durham 420 507 366 657 308 732 287 749 383 751 
			 East Sussex 338 455 325 520 293 716 368 882 403 918 
			 Essex 396 649 379 724 471 961 574 1,559 553 1,740 
			 Gloucestershire 179 264 168 256 159 290 185 353 154 464 
			 Hampshire 530 526 560 710 511 802 436 839 501 822 
			 Hereford and Worcester 272 299 218 311 218 415 223 465 287 450 
			 Hertfordshire 333 431 281 466 321 677 347 845 345 885 
			 Humberside 668 722 639 902 681 1,186 595 1,092 650 1,379 
			 Isle of Wight 58 22 45 10 42 21 54 19 70 32 
			 Kent 607 1,086 578 1,397 595 1,864 555 2,373 665 2,143 
			 Lancashire 881 821 933 918 1,101 1,229 1,081 1,169 1,212 1,366 
			 Leicestershire 460 752 496 819 431 1,075 415 1,063 527 1,172 
			 Lincolnshire 167 263 197 364 230 373 185 421 198 473 
			 Norfolk 309 411 287 436 244 489 285 696 286 738 
			 North Yorkshire 189 255 193 252 185 384 198 450 219 553 
			 Northamptonshire 326 550 338 632 337 763 363 941 406 954 
			 Northumberland 178 272 172 236 165 327 166 309 196 372 
			 Nottinghamshire 512 818 551 1,062 624 1,562 589 1,772 680 2,672 
			 Oxfordshire 217 372 188 478 197 544 223 686 170 566 
			 Shropshire 155 309 185 309 163 315 179 409 222 512 
			 Somerset 148 226 120 248 141 374 155 411 165 513 
			 Staffordshire 421 653 412 809 398 955 453 968 497 1,137 
			 Suffolk 168 164 139 148 143 222 176 326 219 400 
			 Surrey 215 329 185 381 164 508 194 636 197 659 
			 Warwickshire 163 343 171 397 151 461 196 511 150 568 
			 West Sussex 261 239 223 291 239 389 269 435 343 540 
			 Wiltshire 198 89 159 159 151 192 174 275 181 306 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			
			  England—Met Counties 13,458 17,644 12,226 19,585 13,001 25,324 12,620 28,278 13,528 32,613 
			 Greater Manchester 2,642 4,042 2,439 4,130 2,738 5,166 2,529 5,717 2,676 7,017 
			 Merseyside 1,725 1,569 1,606 1,838 1,836 2,568 1,865 3,124 1,787 3,473 
			 South Yorkshire 677 1,562 740 1,901 715 2,254 755 2,125 877 2,383 
			 Tyne and Wear 1,372 1,581 1,201 1,738 1,145 2,068 1,110 1,953 1,188 2,259 
			 West Midlands 2,430 3,044 2,078 3,110 2,102 4,154 2,089 4,423 2,127 4,834 
			 West Yorkshire 1,601 2,874 1,459 3,491 1,420 4,169 1,383 4,817 1,673 6,171 
			 Greater London 3,011 2,971 2,703 3,378 3,045 4,945 2,889 6,118 3,200 6,475 
		
	
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 2) 
			  FRS area  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles  Properties  Road vehicles 
			  England 25,144 66,018 26,077 61,088 22,769 46,660 19,848 40,335 18,254 34,893 
			
			  England—Non-Met counties 13,223 34,976 13,653 32,598 12,398 25,308 10,784 22,232 9,896 19,492 
			 Avon 492 2,147 574 1,838 498 1,502 417 1,373 385 1,258 
			 Bedfordshire 275 968 238 735 261 476 209 434 203 354 
			 Berkshire 239 717 231 628 219 561 143 471 163 413 
			 Buckinghamshire 260 843 288 883 257 675 259 615 222 475 
			 Cambridgeshire 289 1,034 314 961 299 721 245 620 267 576 
			 Cheshire 524 980 496 924 519 892 440 1,011 388 847 
			 Cleveland 731 1,688 656 1,397 495 1,083 397 719 376 628 
			 Cornwall 119 349 109 359 143 271 122 210 98 211 
			 Cumbria 178 408 195 408 163 359 170 330 157 234 
			 Derbyshire 338 1,020 392 894 297 574 289 535 254 456 
			 Devon 373 614 388 623 311 586 310 447 281 429 
			 Dorset 213 515 202 507 173 353 165 320 135 251 
			 Durham 320 823 300 797 287 583 228 535 232 442 
			 East Sussex 368 841 427 695 408 499 301 414 256 340 
			 Essex 536 1,598 524 1,537 474 1,117 377 883 372 768 
			 Gloucestershire 181 532 185 549 171 534 133 386 153 330 
			 Hampshire 412 838 440 815 382 644 309 640 251 682 
			 Hereford and Worcester 210 518 189 426 203 411 156 259 155 304 
			 Hertfordshire 306 891 334 829 282 645 265 531 195 445 
			 Humberside 666 1,695 693 2,079 671 1,582 520 1,387 541 1,073 
			 Isle of Wight 40 45 44 36 38 27 59 21 49 35 
			 Kent 607 1,896 682 1,800 595 1,454 555 1,532 468 1,250 
			 Lancashire 1,040 1,392 1,183 1,274 994 1,043 939 911 855 810 
			 Leicestershire 444 1,171 381 926 326 680 301 510 274 471 
			 Lincolnshire 183 575 194 584 196 463 181 412 171 304 
			 Norfolk 286 732 301 711 285 482 229 471 240 380 
			 North Yorkshire 219 569 167 520 163 347 161 451 158 349 
			 Northamptonshire 415 1,042 392 1,052 384 805 382 755 297 814 
			 Northumberland 188 351 196 390 155 270 125 173 126 181 
			 Nottinghamshire 762 3,064 847 2,499 790 1,707 629 1,346 503 1,120 
			 Oxfordshire 185 565 165 556 171 457 156 426 135 385 
			 Shropshire 217 405 200 346 170 323 190 213 166 253 
			 Somerset 166 612 181 492 172 285 128 247 120 231 
			 Staffordshire 454 1,087 451 1,112 422 906 397 817 367 735 
			 Suffolk 178 375 163 358 150 326 165 309 142 282 
			 Surrey 224 701 282 697 253 539 201 476 252 448 
			 Warwickshire 171 666 200 616 171 553 142 476 141 405 
			 West Sussex 265 474 295 495 296 364 242 341 211 316 
			 Wiltshire 149 237 154 248 154 209 147 225 136 207 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			
			  England—Met Counties 11,921 31,042 12,424 28,490 10,371 21,351 9,064 18,103 8,358 15,402 
			 Greater Manchester 2,374 5,821 2,485 5,132 1,930 4,001 1,811 3,732 1,726 3,206 
			 Merseyside 1,652 3,416 1,728 3,443 1,413 2,806 1,090 2,127 1,036 1,729 
			 South Yorkshire 756 3,098 903 3,098 822 2,280 707 2,040 686 1,985 
			 Tyne and Wear 1,057 2,234 1,092 2,056 827 1,514 748 1,354 684 1,264 
			 West Midlands 1,885 4,612 1,929 4,272 1,584 3,301 1,393 2,704 1,256 1,990 
			 West Yorkshire 1,378 6,482 1,377 5,617 1,280 3,620 1,073 2,722 1,042 2,349 
			 Greater London 2,819 5,379 2,910 4,872 2,515 3,829 2,242 3,424 1,928 2,879 
			 (1) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003. (2) Provisional.

Citizen's Advice Bureau: Finance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department provided for the citizen's advice bureau in each of the local housing allowance pathfinder areas to support money advice services.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The DWP has paid out around £59 million for the overall implementation of the local housing allowance in the local authorities. This money was for a range of implementation activity. The payments were made in August 2007 and included funds for money management advice, IT costs, training, communications and advertising.
	As each local authority decides whether to provide in house money advice services or to contract this out, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of how much funding was used by individual local authorities in support of the services provided by citizen's advice bureau.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 613W, on council tax: valuation, what steps were taken as a result of the consequentials identified following the data enhancement that took place in the Council Tax Revaluation 2007 programme; and what estimate the group valuation officers made of the number of properties involved in the programme.

John Healey: No detailed analysis was undertaken and any action was dealt with as part of the normal duty to maintain the current council tax lists.

Council Tax: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 613W, on council tax: valuation, how many consequentials following data enhancement were identified by the Valuation Office Agency; and what actions her Department has taken as a result of such identifications.

John Healey: The issue was one of potential banding changes as a consequence of data enhancement. No detailed analysis was undertaken and they were dealt with as part of the normal duty to maintain the current council tax lists.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many disabled facilities grant awards were made in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The disabled facilities grant is a mandatory grant used to provide adaptations to the homes of disabled people. Local authorities in England report their annual disabled facilities grant expenditure and the number of recipients of disabled facilities grant through the housing strategy statistical appendix. The 2006-07 housing strategy statistical appendix report was recently published. The following table sets out the number of disabled facilities grant recipients in England from 2002-03 to 2006-07:
	
		
			   Number of recipients 
			 2002-03 29,314 
			 2003-04 34,925 
			 2004-05 38,552 
			 2005-06 34,955 
			 2006-07 37,266

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the statement of 25 February,  Official Report, columns 66-67WS, on the national strategy for housing in an ageing society: disabled facilities grant (funding), what guidance will be issued to local authorities to ensure that funding provided for the disabled facilities grant (DFG) is spent on DFG related purposes once the ring fencing for this funding is removed.

Iain Wright: holding answer 27  March 2008
	The removal of the ringfence in respect of the funding for disabled facilities grant will be piloted in a number of local authorities from 2008-09. The pilots will be evaluated and lessons learnt through this process. This will inform good practice guidance for all other local authorities before the ring fence is removed in 2010-11.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many disabled facilities grant awards have been made at the maximum level of £25,000 in the last five years.

Iain Wright: holding answer 27 March 2008
	The disabled facilities grant is a mandatory grant used to provide adaptations to the homes of disabled people. Local authorities in England report their total annual disabled facilities grant expenditure and the number of recipients of disabled facilities grant through the housing strategy statistical appendix. This does not include information on the individual level of grants awarded.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many disabled facilities grant awards the Government estimate will be made at the new maximum level of £30,000 in the three years after its introduction in April 2008; and what the effect on costs will be.

Iain Wright: holding answer 27 March 2008
	In 2004, the Government launched a cross departmental review of the disabled facilities grant programme. Bristol university were commissioned to carry out an independent study of the programme and make recommendations for change. One of the recommendations for change was to increase the maximum level for a disabled facilities grant. Bristol estimated that increasing the limit from £25,000 to £30,000 would impact on the national budget in the region of £4.3 million. It is estimated that this increase will affect in the region of 1,000 grant applications each year. The national budget for the disabled facilities grant programme increases by £25 million in 2008-09 and then by £10 million in each of the following two years. This increase meets the cost of the changes made to the programme as well as helping to address the continued growth in demand for adaptations.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 66-67WS, on the national strategy for housing in an ageing society: disabled facilities grant (funding), how many disabled facilities grant awards the Government estimate will be made in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Iain Wright: The disabled facilities grant is a mandatory grant used to provide adaptations to the homes of disabled people. Local authorities in England report their annual disabled facilities grant expenditure and the number of recipients of disabled facilities grant through the housing strategy statistical appendix.
	The figures provided by the 2007 housing strategy statistical appendix estimates a total of 42,014 will receive disabled facilities grants in 2008-09. The Department does not hold estimated numbers beyond 2008-09.

Energy Performance Certificates: Complaints

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what complaints procedures are available to those paying for energy performance certificates.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 10 March 2008
	Details of the complaints procedure available to those paying for energy performance certificates are set out in the accreditation scheme standards for Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) and Commercial Energy Assessors (CEAs) respectively. A copy of the accreditation scheme standards for DEAs is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/319273
	The accreditation scheme standards for CEAs are currently being updated. They will be published on the CLG website shortly.

Fire Services: Manpower

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire-fighters there were in each local authority area in the East Midlands in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: Available information, for each Fire and Rescue Service area within East Midlands, is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Firefighters( 1)  in East Midlands 1997-2006 
			   Derbyshire  Leicestershire  Lincolnshire  Northamptonshire  Nottinghamshire  Total East Midlands 
			 1997 841 701 628 520 921 3,611 
			 1998 859 723 588 503 891 3,564 
			 1999 836 710 662 518 923 3,649 
			 2000 863 718 682 517 922 3,702 
			 2001 834 730 674 517 930 3,685 
			 2002 846 701 682 534 930 3,693 
			 2003 808 696 690 535 945 3,674 
			 2004 832 694 716 531 936 3,709 
			 2005 829 739 701 539 888 3,696 
			 2006 805 672 724 517 911 3,629 
			 (1) Includes all roles of fire officers including chief officers. 
		
	
	Numbers of firefighters can fluctuate when firefighters retire and are not immediately replaced. These figures provide a snapshot of figures at one point during the year.

Flood Control: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria her Department will use for allocating European Union solidarity flood funding.

John Healey: The recommendation to award the UK funding from the European Union Solidarity Fund to assist with recovery from the floods of 2007 was approved by the European Union Budgetary Committee on 28 February 2008. We are currently working alongside the European Commission to draft the implementation agreement which will allow the money to be paid to the UK, and we expect to receive the money in spring.
	The nature of the EUSF is that it is to reimburse emergency operations undertaken by public bodies, including central Government.
	Regulations governing the EUSF state that it can only be spent on works in the following four categories:
	immediate restoration to working order of infrastructure and plant in the fields of energy, water and waste water, telecommunications, transport, health and education—in most circumstances costs relating to energy, water, waste water and telecommunications will not be covered as these costs are borne by the private utilities companies;
	providing temporary accommodation and funding rescue services to meet the immediate needs of the population concerned;
	immediate securing of preventive infrastructures and measures of immediate protection of the cultural heritage; and
	immediate cleaning up of disaster-stricken areas, including natural zones.

Home Information Packs

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average amount of time taken for a conveyancing search to be completed in  (a) Milton Keynes unitary authority and  (b) England, (i) before the introduction of the home improvement pack legislation and (ii) after the introduction of the legislation.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 31 March 2008
	My Department does not hold the information in the form requested. Based on our survey of local authority property searches services of April 2007, we estimate that on average, property searches took five days in England. As part of this survey, Milton Keynes unitary authority reported an average time of seven days.

Home Information Packs

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) home information packs and  (b) home condition reports have been commissioned to date.

Iain Wright: holding answer 1 April 2008
	The commercial and private nature of a home owner's decision when to place their property on the market for sale means this information is not available in a robust form. We therefore do not hold this information centrally in the format requested.

Housing: Disabled

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by the London borough of Enfield on improving homes for people with disabilities in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: The disabled facilities grant is a mandatory grant used to provide adaptations to the homes of disabled people. Local authorities in England report their annual disabled facilities grant expenditure through the housing strategy statistical appendix. The 2006-07 housing strategy statistical appendix report was published recently. The 2004-05 to 2006-07 expenditure by the London borough of Enfield is provided in the following table. Communities and Local Government provide 60 per cent. of the value of the disabled facilities grant to local authorities. Local authorities fund the remaining 40 per cent. from their own resources. Expenditure figures for 2007-08 are not yet available.
	The following table sets out disabled facilities grant expenditure for the London borough of Enfield.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total expenditure 1,860,000 1,203,000 1,689,000 
			 CLG contribution 794,000 844,000 915,000

Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of each report on the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund prepared by each of the Government Offices for the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit.

John Healey: Government Offices do not systematically prepare such reports, although information on the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund may form part of Local Strategic Partnership reporting.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Contracts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

Stephen Timms: Contracts awarded to the suppliers  (a) to  (e) are listed in the following table. Details of contracts awarded to other consultancy firms  (f) can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Month  Supplier  Purpose  Value (£) 
			  2007
			 April PWC Analysis, evaluation and advice on CSA debt 139,334 
			 
			 May PWC NEP—focus groups on the quality of ESOL training to unemployed immigrants 23,070 
			 May PWC Management support to 'Tell us Once' project 61,230 
			 May McKinsey Assurance review of CSA computer system 135,000 
			 May PWC Measurement of admin costs 42,000 
			 
			 June PWC NEP—City strategy review 36,045 
			 June PWC Departmental financial advisors 900,000 
			 
			 July Deloitte Investment advice to the enabling retirement savings programme 193,133 
			 July Deloitte Child maintenance redesign 308,083 
			 July Deloitte Child maintenance redesign 478,386 
			 July Deloitte HR operating model 417,348 
			 
			 August PWC Support on resilience of the Pensions Protection Fund 20,000 
			 August KPMG Financial support on Remploy/TU negotiations 87,000 
			 August Deloitte PADA design and implementation 2,000,000 
			 August Deloitte Child maintenance redesign 478,386 
			 August Deloitte Business design and design capability 850,000 
			 
			 September PWC Analysis of costs and benefits of 'Tell us Once' 970,000 
			 September Ernst and Young Data protection advice 49,563 
			 
			 October None — — 
			 November PWC Support to CPS programme 514,560 
			 November Deloitte Support to CPS programme 1,637,981 
			 November Deloitte Application Delivery Centre 342,900 
			 
			 December None — — 
			  2008
			 January Deloitte Child maintenance redesign—debt provisions 105,705 
			 January Deloitte New ways of working implementation 189,510 
			 
			 February PWC Review to improve DWP's performance and development system PDS diversity and equality performance 26,696 
			 February PWC Development of a framework and toolkit for corporate, cohesive and capable boards at DWP 39,183 
			 February Deloitte Risk management support to RAD 50,000 
			 
			 March PWC Support to conduct equal pay audit 21,100

Incapacity Benefit

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received incapacity benefits or severe disablement allowance on the grounds of dependency on  (a) drugs and  (b) alcohol in each year since 1997 for which information is available.

Anne McGuire: The Government's drugs strategy was published on 27 February 2008. It stresses the need for the benefit system to support re-integration and personalisation. We will ensure that it provides the right level of support, and also creates incentives for people with drug problems to move towards treatment.
	We will put in place arrangements which require drugs misusers on benefits who are not already in treatment to attend a discussion with an appropriate specialist treatment provider or partner organisation.
	Entitlement to incapacity benefit is not linked to any specific diagnosis or condition. Entitlement, which is assessed by the personal capability assessment, depends on the effect that a person's condition has on their ability to carry out a number of activities relevant to work. Most people with drug or alcohol dependency also have other conditions, such as mental illness; and it is these other conditions which result in entitlement to benefits.
	We do record the diagnosis of incapacity that is written on a claimant's medical certificate. The table shows the number of people receiving incapacity benefits whose recorded diagnosis includes drug or alcohol dependency.
	
		
			  Working age incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claims which includes a recorded diagnosis of alcoholism or drug abuse from the claimant ' s medical certificate. 
			  Number as of May:  Alcoholism  Drug abuse  Alcoholism as proportion of caseload  Drug Abuse as proportion of caseload 
			 1997 26,800 21,900 1.03 0.84 
			 1998 29,800 25,300 1.13 0.96 
			 1999 32,500 27,900 1.23 1.05 
			 2000 35,580 30,950 1.32 1.15 
			 2001 38,660 36,230 1.40 1.32 
			 2002 41,040 40,690 1.48 1.47 
			 2003 43,420 43,890 1.57 1.58 
			 2004 45,940 46,120 1.66 1.66 
			 2005 47,740 47,980 1.74 1.75 
			 2006 49,200 48,550 1.83 1.81 
			 2007 51,410 49,890 1.94 1.89 
			  Notes: 1. May 1997 to May 1999 (inclusive) numbers are uprated to WPLS totals and rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. May 2000 to May 2007 (inclusive) numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 4. May 1997 to May 1999 (inclusive) numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 5. These figures should be used as a guide to the current situation only. 6. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10(th) Revision, published by the World Health Organisation.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Medical Examinations: Sight Impaired

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all registered blind people are required to undertake a personal capability assessment.

Stephen Timms: Registered blind people are treated as meeting the threshold of incapacity for benefit purposes and are exempt from the personal capability assessment process.
	New arrangements will apply when the work capability assessment for the Employment and Support Allowance is introduced in October this year.

Mineral Waters

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many litres of bottled water were purchased by his Department in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions currently has a single contract to supply DWP offices with water coolers, bottled water and associated services and equipment. Bottled water may also be provided for business meetings but is sourced from a variety of contracts and is not accounted for separately.
	From April 2006 to March 2007, DWP purchased 3.4 million litres of bottled water. So far this year, from April 2007 to January 2008, DWP has purchased 2.9 million litres. Information prior to these dates is not available.
	DWP is committed to phase out the use of bottled water for all business meetings and replace it with tap water. We are aiming to have this process in place by the summer of 2008.

New Deal for Disabled People

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have taken part in the new deal for disabled people  (a) nationally and  (b) in West Lancashire.

Stephen Timms: Nationally, 271,180 people started the new deal for disabled people between July 2001 and August 2007. In the same period, 490 people started the programme in the West Lancashire constituency.

Pensioners

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of measures introduced by his Department since 1997 on pensioners in  (a) the UK,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland.

Mike O'Brien: Latest available information shows that average net incomes of pensioner households in the UK increased by 29 per cent. between 1996-97 and 2005-06, and average net incomes of pensioner households in the North East increased by 29 per cent. between 1994-95 to 1996-97 and 2003-04 to 2005-06. Information for the Tees Valley and Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland is not available.
	The Government have introduced a number of measures since 1997 to help older people to enjoy a better standard of living, most notably the introduction of the minimum income guarantee and its successor pension credit. We have successively raised the pension credit standard minimum guarantee by earnings in every year since its introduction. For 2008 the standard minimum guarantee will rise to £124.05—an increase of 4.2 per cent.—more than keeping pace with earnings and prices.
	In addition we have introduced winter fuel payments for those aged 60 and over, including an extra one-off payment for winter 2008-09 of £50 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and £100 for those with someone aged 80 or over announced in the Budget on 12 March 2008.
	We have also introduced free television licences for people aged over 75 and from April 2008 those over 60 will be entitled to free off-peak bus travel in England. We have committed to increasing the basic state pension by earnings by 2012, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, or by the end of the next Parliament.
	As a result of the personal tax and benefit changes that we have introduced pensioner households nationally will be around £1,500 a year better off in 2008-09 than they would have been under the 1997 system. The poorest third of pensioner households will on average be around £2,100 a year better off.
	Our new public service agreement 'Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and wellbeing in later life' demonstrates our commitment to ensure that the specific needs of the older population are given due priority.

Social Security Benefits: Recipients

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in  (a) London and  (b) England in receipt of (i) jobseeker's allowance and (ii) incapacity benefit have been claiming benefit continuously for (A) more than three months, (B) more than six months, (C) more than a year and (D) more than two years.

James Plaskitt: The most recent available information is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Jobseekers allowance claimants in England and London by duration of current claim; as at January 2008 
			   All  Up to 3 months  3 months up to 6 months  6 months up to 1 year  1 year and up to 2 years  2 years and up to 5 years  5 years and over 
			 England 688,505 333,700 147,450 108,025 69,835 24,400 5,105 
			 London 130,730 53,895 30,400 23,595 16,160 5,410 1,280 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest five; totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems (computer held cases only). 
		
	
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in England and London by duration of current claim: As at May 2007 
			   All  Up to 3 months  3 months up to 6 months  6 months up to 1 year  1 year and up to 2 years  2 years and up to 5 years  5 years and over 
			 England 2,166,480 105,600 91,420 135,500 189,720 440,810 1,203,400 
			 London 311,410 14,500 13,750 21,020 29,170 69,990 162,980 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent WPLS

Social Security Benefits: Wales

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people claimed each type of benefit in  (a) Aberavon constituency and  (b) Wales in each year since 1979.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available prior to 2002. Estimates for the proportion of the population are not available at parliamentary constituency level. The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Working age and pensioner client groups, by statistical group and proportion (percentage) of adult population in Wales, as at May each year 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  All benefits 947,340 949,200 944,530 945,710 949,070 948,240 
			 Proportion 40.5 40.2 39.7 39.5 39.5 39.4 
			
			  Job seekers 45,700 45,120 38,620 40,320 44,400 40,100 
			 Proportion 2.0 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.7 
			
			  Incapacity benefits 223,970 221 ,220 216,800 212,140 206,880 200,540 
			 Proportion 9.6 9.4 9.1 8.9 8.6 8.3 
			
			  Lone parents 46,580 45,020 42,860 40,540 39,800 38,540 
			 Proportion 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 
			
			  Carers 30,350 34,180 41 ,780 46,310 49,860 52,540 
			 Proportion 1.3 1.4 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.2 
			
			  Other income related benefit 93,770 94,270 134,090 143,110 144,850 145,380 
			 Proportion 4.0 4.0 5.6 6.0 6.0 6.0 
			
			  Disabled 138,000 142,900 128,630 126,520 129,450 133,590 
			 Proportion 5.9 6.1 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.6 
			
			  Bereaved 10,610 9,530 8,500 7,860 7,080 6,340 
			 Proportion 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			
			  State pension only 358,370 356,970 333,260 328,910 326,750 331,220 
			 Proportion 15.3 15.1 14.0 13.8 13.6 13.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Working age and pensioner client groups, by Statistical group in the Aberavon parliamentary constituency, as at May each year 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 All 25,240 25,280 24,870 24,860 24,720 24,560 
			 Job seekers 1,070 1,110 860 1,000 1,010 960 
			 Incapacity benefits 7,550 7,520 7,340 7,230 6,920 6,700 
			 Lone parent 1,320 1,300 1,220 1,190 1,170 1,180 
			 Carers 1,110 1,310 1,580 1,780 1,980 2,090 
			 Other income related benefits 2,590 2,580 3,640 3,810 3,960 3,920 
			 Disabled 4,620 4,760 4,240 4,100 4,060 4,150 
			 Bereaved 210 190 170 140 140 120 
			 State pension only 6,770 6,530 5,830 5,620 5,480 5,450 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures for attendance allowance, carers allowance, and disability living allowance include those cases with entitlement but where payment is currently suspended (for example, because of an extended stay in hospital or an overlapping benefit). 4. Statistical Group is a hierarchical variable. A person who fits into more than one category will only appear in the top-most one for which they are eligible. Job Seeker: claimant on jobseekers allowance; Incapacity benefits: claimant on incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance; Lone Parent: claimant on income support with child under 16 and no partner; Carer: claimant entitled to carer's allowance; Other Income related benefit: claimant on income support or pension credit; Disabled: claimant on attendance allowance or disability living allowance; Bereaved: claimant on bereavement benefit or widow's benefit; State Pension only: claimant in receipt of state pension only. For example a claimant of disability living allowance and jobseekers allowance would appear in "job seeker", not in "disabled".  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. ONS mid-year population estimates.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Compensation

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government paid in compensation to Afghan nationals injured by British armed forces in Afghanistan in each year since 2001.

Des Browne: Payments totalling $US 295,386 have been paid to Afghan nationals killed or injured by British armed forces in Afghanistan since 2001 as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total payments ($) 
			 2001-02 (1)— 
			 2002-03 35,000 
			 2003-04 (1)— 
			 2004-05 (1)— 
			 2005-06 (1)— 
			 2006-07 36,061 
			 2007-08 224,325 
			 (1) None recorded

Air Force: Military Bases

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the duration of the contract with the US administration for its use of  (a) RAF Menwith Hill and  (b) RAF Fylingdales.

Des Browne: There is no contract for the use of RAF Menwith Hill. The base is made available to the United States Visiting Force under the terms of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement 1951, and other confidential arrangements.
	The use of RAF Fylingdales to provide the US with ballistic missile early warning data is governed by the Memorandum of Agreement Concerning Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at Fylingdales Moor, Yorkshire 1960. This agreement is scheduled to remain in force while the North Atlantic Treaty remains in force. The use of the upgraded early warning radar at RAF Fylingdales to provide data for the US ballistic missile defence system is governed by the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Ballistic Missile Defence. This agreement is scheduled to last for 25 years, and began in 2003.

Ammunition

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the UK's stockpile of cluster munitions is; and what the criteria is for their use.

Bob Ainsworth: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. The use of cluster munitions, as with all munitions, is governed by international humanitarian law.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals in each branch of the armed forces participated in his Department's shared equity housing scheme.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not currently operate a shared equity housing scheme.

Armed Forces: Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance the Defence Medical Services Department has issued to the armed forces overseas on preparing for an influenza pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Guidance and information on infection control procedures for military establishments, both within the UK and overseas, is set down in the Defence Medical Services document "Pandemic Influenza: Infection Control Guidance for Military Settings", issued in October 2006, and based on Health Protection Agency guidance. In the event that the World Health Organisation declares a pandemic alert, Defence Medical Services personnel on operational deployment will work with military commanders to apply the guidance in-theatre.
	In addition, MOD has recently produced a "Pandemic Influenza Guide", to enable defence personnel to make informed judgements on what to do should an influenza pandemic occur. Two leaflets have also been produced, summarising key aspects of the guidance; TLBs and Trading Funds will be arranging promulgation to their staff shortly.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Michael Mates: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many forces' widows whose husbands retired before 31 March 1973 were receiving an armed forces pension scheme pension at the latest date for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Michael Mates: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons figures on the number of service pensions paid are not included in UK defence statistics.

Derek Twigg: Figures on the number of service pensions paid are not included in the UK Defence statistics as there has been no past requirement for the Defence Analytical Services Agency to routinely process information on the armed forces pension scheme.

Armed Forces: Schools

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with the National Union of Teachers on the provision of materials on  (a) the armed forces and  (b) Iraq to schools; and what steps have been taken following such discussions.

Derek Twigg: No discussions have taken place between MOD and the NUT.

Armed Forces: Transexuality

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Tri Service Draft on Transgender Service Personnel.

Bob Ainsworth: I will place a copy of the policy document in the Library of the House once it has been finalised.

Army: Manpower

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) mean,  (b) median and  (c) mode length of service of (i) UK nationals and (ii) non-UK nationals in the British Army was in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: This question has been assumed as mean, median and mode return of service and is therefore based on the length of service of those that outflowed during the period.
	Non-UK nationals have only been recruited into the Army in significant numbers since 1999 and so a comparatively small number have had the opportunity to serve a full career. This is reflected in the number that have outflowed and the mean, mode and median calculations.
	The following tables show the mean, mode and median length of service on outflow for trained regular army direct entry and late entry officers and other ranks. Because of the very small population of outflow from non-UK nationals this information is not comparable with the outflow from UK nationals.
	
		
			  Direct entry officers 
			   UK nationals  Non-UK nationals 
			  Financial year of outflow  Mean  Mode  Median  Number of outflow  Mean  Mode  Median  Number of outflow 
			 2006-07(1) 16 years 2 months 6 years 16 years 710 13 years 9 months 4 and 9 years 9 years 20 
			 2005-06 17 years 6 and 34 years 14 years 660 11 years 5 months 5 and 6 years 7 years 30 
			 2004-05 16 years 9 months 6 years 14 years 630 11 years 2 months 4 years 6 years 20 
			 2003-04 17 years 3 months 5 and 34 years 16 years 570 13 years 3 months 4 and 34 years 8 years 10 
			 2002-03 17 years 11 months 34 years 16 years 570 7 years 10 months 34 years 5 years 20 
			 2001-02 17 years 4 months 34 years 16 years 650 16 years 11 months 6 years 10 years 10 
			 2000-01 16 years 4 years 12 years 650 13 years 4 months 16 years 11 years 20 
			 1999-2000 16 years 7 months 34 years 12 years 630 11 years 10 months 6 years 8 years 20 
			 1998-99 14 years 11 months 4 years 9 years 750 11 years 3 months 5 and 8 years 8 years 20 
			 1997-98 14 years 11 months 6 years 9 years 650 13 years 4 months 7 years 8 years 20 
		
	
	
		
			  Late entry officers 
			   UK nationals  Non-UK nationals 
			  Financial year of outflow  Mean  Mode  Median  Number of outflow  Mean  Mode  Median  Number of outflow 
			 2006-07(1) 9 years 6 months 3 and 4 years 9 years 260 10 years 6 months 7 and 8 years 8 years 10 
			 2005-06 10 years 6 months 6 years 10 years 280 10 years 8 months 4 years 10 years 10 
			 2004-05 10 years 10 months 14 years 11 years 230 11 years 4 months 6 and 10 years 10 years 10 
			 2003-04 11 years 8 months 15 and 16 years 12 years 182 11 years 10 months (2)— 9 years 0 
			 2002-03 11 years 11 months 15 years 12 years 200 17 years 3 months 16 years 17 years 0 
			 2001-02 12 years 3 months 15 years 12 years 220 19 years 3 months 19 years 19 years 0 
			 2000-01 12 years 14 years 12 years 210 14 years 6 months (2)— 14 years 0 
			 1999-2000 11 years 8 months 6 years 11 years 190 14 years 3 months (2)— 15 years 0 
			 1998-99 11 years 11 months 5 years 12 years 230 9 years 10 months (2)— 5 years 0 
			 1997-98 10 years 2 months 5 years 9 years 260 12 years 11 years 11 years 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Other ranks 
			   UK nationals  Non-UK nationals 
			  Financial year of outflow  Mean  Mode  Median  Number of outflow  Mean  Mode  Median  Number of outflow 
			 2006/07(1) 10 years 2 months 22 years 6 years 9,210 5 years 5 months 4 years 4 years 420 
			 2005-06 10 years 6 months 22 years 6 years 10,130 5 years 6 months 4 years 4 years 290 
			 2004-05 9 years 5 months 22 years 6 years 10,420 4 years 8 months 4 years 3 years 250 
			 2003-04 9 years 5 months 22 years 6 years 9,220 4 years 1 month 1 year 3 years 190 
			 2002-03 9 years 11 months 22 years 6 years 9,370 6 years 8 months 3 years 4 years 160 
			 2001-02 9 years 9 months 22 years 6 years 9,570 6 years 7 months 22 years 5 years 130 
			 2000-01 9 years 11 months 22 years 7 years 9,630 8 years 3 months 3 years 4 years 110 
			 1999-2000 10 years 22 years 7 years 9,440 11 years 22 years 8 years 110 
			 1998-99 9 years 9 months 22 years 7 years 10,100 9 years 6 months 3 years 6 years 100 
			 1997-98 9 years 9 months 22 years 7 years 9,560 10 years 8 months 22 years 7 years 100 
			 (1) The financial year 2006-07 is for an 11 month period from 1 April 2006 to 28 February 2007. (2) Due to insufficient numbers of outflow we are unable to publish the mode without disclosing sensitive personal data.  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent disclosure of sensitive personal data. 2. '0' Denotes zero or rounded to zero. 3. UK nationals equal personnel with a nationality at birth of UK or UK dependency 4. Non-UK Nationals equal personnel with a nationality at birth of Commonwealth(excluding UK), Eire and other.

Committee of Permanent Representatives

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2008,  Official Report, column 652W, on Committee of Permanent Representatives, whether each agenda item listed was decided as an  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) I or  (d) false B Point.

Bob Ainsworth: The Committee of Permanent Representatives II considers agenda items as either "I points" (agreed without discussion) or "II points" (items scheduled for debate). There are no items considered as A, B or false B points.
	My answer on 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 652W, set out which items were considered as "I points" and which were considered as "II points".

Defence: Procurement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's outstanding offset obligations are in respect of previous procurement exercises conducted since 1997; what the unfulfilled value was in each case; when the decision to undertake each exercise was taken; what the  (a) originally anticipated and  (b) currently anticipated completion date is of each; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence holds no industrial participation (IP) obligations. Since 1997, 13 IP commitments have been made by offshore companies relating to defence procurements. 12 of these are outstanding with a combined value of £526 million. These are listed as follows, along with commencement dates and planned dates for completion.
	
		
			  Programme  Start date  Completion date 
			 ASTOR February 1999 April 2011 
			 BSFM August 2007 August 2011 
			 C-17 August 2006 December 2010 
			 Chinook Support December 2006 December 2011 
			 Javelin December 2002 March 2013 
			 Javelin (Training) May 2003 March 2013 
			 MTADS/PNVS May 2005 December 2010 
			 NLAW January 2002 January 2017 
			 Litening Pods November 2006 November 2010 
			 Shielder September 2006 September 2009 
			 Soothsayer August 2003 August 2011 
			 Watchkeeper October 2005 October 2012

Departmental Property

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the locations are of accommodation sold by his Department in each year since 1993; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Details of all Ministry of Defence (MOD) accommodation sold as far back as 1993 are not available, as central records were not kept until 2000. However, the following table provides details of MOD property sold in the UK since 2000.
	
		
			  Financial year beginning  Site  Town 
			 2006 Agricultural Land Disposal (2) (DCSA Forest Moor) Harrogate 
			  Monkmoors Disposal Area (DE Eskmeals) Millom 
			  Higham Grange—OMU (DCSA Radio Inskip) Preston 
			  Administration Site (RAF Boulmer Remainder of Old Admin Site) Boulmer 
			  Rawcliffe PSD (UNITER Building Rawcliffe Bridge) Goole 
			  Agricultural Land Disposal (3) (DCSA Radio Forest Moor) Harrogate 
			  Monkmoors Disposal Area (Garage No. 2, Hycemoor) (DE Eskmeals) Millom 
			  Monkmoors Disposal Area (Garage No. 5, Hycemoor) (DE Eskmeals) Millom 
			  Meagill (Woodland) (DCSA Radio Forest Moor) Blubberhouses 
			  Killymeal Hse, Dungannon Dungannon 
			  Aberdeen—Ashwood Circle 23-37 Aberdeen 
			  Arbroath Condor Drive Arbroath 
			  Benbecula—Tuzo Close MQs Balivanich 
			  Inverness—Dev Site-Raigmore Ave—Plot 2 Inverness 
			  Cupar—Tarvitt Drive North Cupar 
			  Cupar—Tarvitt Drive East Cupar 
			  Cupar—Tarvitt Drive South Cupar 
			  Cupar—Tarvitt Drive Centre Cupar 
			  Portpatrick—Ground Monitor Station Portpatrick 
			  Penicuik—Parkhead Lodge Glencorse 
			  Forres—Thornhill Forres 
			  Forres—Thornhill Estate Properties—With DE for Disposal Forres 
			  Forres—Thornhill Estate Properties Forres 
			  Garelochhead—Rowmore Cottages Garelochhead 
			  Rosneath Grass Verge Rosneath 
			  Paisley—Lammermuir Drive Paisley 
			  Perth—Stormont Road SFA (Phase 3) Scone 
			  (Peterhead) Invernettie Estate Properties—Operational Peterhead 
			  Boddam—The Sheilings Estate Properties—with DE for Disposal—Phase 4 (part) (No. 5 and 7) Boddam 
			  Saxa Vord—17, 20-29 and 53-76 Settlers Hill Haroldswick 
			  Irvine Dundonald Cres Irvine 
			  Lossiemouth—Development Site Lossiemouth 
			  Forres—Thornhill Forres 
			  Lossiemouth—St. Gerardines Road Lossiemouth 
			  Perth—Stormont Road SFA (Phase 3) Scone 
			  Edinburgh—Cramond Place Evens SFA Properties—With DE for Disposal Edinburgh 
			  Edinburgh—Polton Estate Edinburgh 
			  Saxa Vord—17, 20-29 and 53-76 Settlers Hill Haroldswick 
			  Poor Wood ATE Caerwent Caerwent 
			  UNITER Building ATE Templeton Templeton 
			  Army Medals Office, Droitwich Droitwich Spa 
			  West Raynham (tech site) West Raynham 
			  West Raynham (Former owner sale—Townsend) West Raynham 
			  Families Club Norwich 
			  RAF Stoke Holy Cross Poringland 
			  South Creake Seismic Station South Creake 
			  RAF Neatishead Neatishead 
			  RAF Coltishall and Sewage Treatment Works Norwich 
			  Rushley Cottage Great Wakering 
			  Land adjoining 23 Hillside Crescent (Manchester SFA) Ashton under Lyne 
			  Lossiemouth—Cromarty Place Lossiemouth 
			  Elgin—Shaw Place Elgin 
			  Lossiemouth Lossiemouth 
			  West Raynham ('Former owner sale'—Overman) West Raynham 
			  Higham Grange Nissen Hut (DCSA Radio Inskip) Preston 
			  16 Hillside Crescent Manchester SFA Ashton under Lyne 
			  17 Hillside Crescent Manchester SFA Ashton under Lyne 
			  8 Ladysmith Road Manchester SFA Ashton under Lyne 
			  Land adjoining No. 16 Hillside Crescent Manchester SFA Ashton under Lyne 
			  Barrack—Carpet Store Norwich 
			  18 Hillside Crescent Manchester SFA Ashton under Lyne 
			  Mahon Road, Portadown Portadown 
			  Higham Grange—Nissen Hut—Additional (DCSA Radio Inskip) Preston 
			  West Raynham (tech site) West Raynham 
			  Halton Hospital—Disposal Site Wendover 
			  Queens Gate Aldershot 
			  General Aviation Area (Part) Aldershot 
			  Whitewall Creek—Chatham Frindsbury 
			  Maidstone ACF HQ (Maidstone TA) Maidstone 
			  Guillemont Fields and Rhine Banks Estate (part) Aldershot 
			  Access to Riverside Cottage Upper Upnor, Rochester 
			  Halton Tennis Centre Halton 
			  Sportsground at Uckfield Road Crowborough 
			  Driving Test Centre (Land at North Lane) Aldershot 
			  Longcott Road Plots Shrivenham 
			  Northern Parade Portsmouth 
			  Clayhall Cemetery Gosport 
			  RM Dunkeswell South (Plots 1a and 1b) Honiton 
			  DMC Plymouth (Ernsettle House) Plymouth 
			  Bullpoint—School Site Plymouth 
			  RM Dunkeswell North Honiton 
			  St. Mawgan Airfield (BFI 7) Newquay 
			  St. Mawgan Airfield (Seaview Bungalow) Newquay 
			  DMC Dean Hill (Depot Open Market) West Dean 
			  DMC Dean Hill (Depot Open Market) (Rolling Stock—Train, carriages etc.) West Dean 
			  11 Hillside Close Salisbury 
			  Elles Road Wareham 
			  Playground Area (Depot/Warehouses) Ludgershall 
			  Elmtree Close Recreation Ground Devizes 
			  Land (Higham Road) North of Hoo Road Wainscott, Rochester 
			  Tented Area Weymouth 
			  1, 2, 3 and 4 Langton Park Wroughton

In-Flight Refuelling: Procurement

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to acquiring future strategic tanker aircraft by adding the UK's requirement to that of the United States.

Bob Ainsworth: As I announced in my statement to the House on 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 31WS, we have concluded a contract with AirTanker Ltd to deliver the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft service from 2011. It is a holistic contract including provision of purpose designed training and maintenance facilities at RAF Brize Norton, together with through life training and maintenance support services, until 2035. The US has selected an aircraft to meet its requirement but has not yet concluded the commercial arrangements. We believe that the FSTA contract is the most cost effective way to meet the UK requirement.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many awards for  (a) bravery and  (b) distinguished service were issued to personnel who had served in Iraq in each year since 2003, broken down by (i) service, (ii) rank and (iii) regiment.

Bob Ainsworth: It has not been possible to collate the necessary information in the format requested within the required timescale. I can however provide aggregate figures as follows:
	
		
			  Service  Gallantry  Meritorious service  Total 
			 Royal Navy/Royal Marines 32 77 109 
			 Army 328 310 638 
			 Royal Air Force 43 70 113 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary — 5 5 
			 Total 403 462 865 
		
	
	The Army figures can be further broken out into regiment follows:
	
		
			  Regt/Corps  Gallantry  Meritorious service  Total 
			 Household Cavalry Regiment 7 — 7 
			 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 6 6 12 
			 The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 2 2 4 
			 The Royal Dragoon Guards — 1 1 
			 The Queen's Royal Hussars 4 2 6 
			 9th/12th Royal Lancers — 1 1 
			 The King's Royal Hussars 3 3 6 
			 The Light Dragoons — 4 4 
			 The Queen's Royal Lancers 4 5 9 
			 Royal Tank Regiment 1 4 5 
			 The Queens Own Yeomanry — 2 2 
			 Royal Artillery 14 27 41 
			 Royal Engineers 20 40 60 
			 Royal Corps of Signals 2 15 17 
			 Grenadier Guards 2 — 2 
			 Coldstream Guards 2 2 4 
			 Scots Guards 3 3 6 
			 Irish Guards 7 3 10 
			 Welsh Guards 3 5 8 
			 Royal Regiment of Scotland 34 14 48 
			 Princess of Wales' s Royal Regiment 43 4 47 
			 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 7 5 12 
			 Royal Anglian Regiment 9 4 13 
			 The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment 15 12 27 
			 The Yorkshire Regiment 4 10 14 
			 The Mercian Regiment 6 6 12 
			 The Royal Welsh 19 4 23 
			 The Rifles 35 10 45 
			 The Royal Irish Regiment 5 5 10 
			 The Parachute Regiment 29 10 39 
			 The London Regiment 1 — 1 
			 The Royal Gurkha Rifles — 1 1 
			 Queen's Gurkha Engineers — 1 1 
			 Royal Army Chaplains Department — 1 1 
			 Army Air Corps 5 2 7 
			 The Royal Logistic Corps 16 41 57 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 6 16 22 
			 Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 12 12 24 
			 Adjutant General's Corps 2 13 15 
			 Small Arms School Corps — 1 1 
			 Intelligence Corps — 9 9 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps — 4 4 
			 Total 328 310 638 
		
	
	I will write to the hon. Member with more detailed information when this has been collated.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to  Nick Harvey:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your parliamentary question on 19 March 2008, Official Report, columns 1174-75W with more detailed information on bravery and distinguished service since 2003.
	After further investigation by officials it has become clear that the information is not held in the format you requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Since 2003 there have been 10 operational honours lists, all of which have been published in the London Gazette, http://www.london-gazette.co.uk, copies of which were forward to the Library of the House. The operational honours list was gazetted on the following dates:
	31 October 2003
	23 April and 7 September 2004
	18 March and 9 September 2005
	24 March, 8 September and 15 December 2006
	19 July 2007
	7 March 2008

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel were stationed in Basra in each month since December 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The number of established UK military posts in southern Iraq over the period requested is shown in the table (to the nearest hundred):
	
		
			   Number 
			 31 December 2007 4,500 
			 31 January 2008 4,100 
			 29 February 2008 4,000 
			 31 March 2008 4,000 
		
	
	The actual number of UK military personnel in theatre varies significantly from day-to-day for a variety of reasons, including leave (rest and recuperation), temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement offerees and other factors.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel have served  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three and  (d) four or more tours of duty in Iraq since March 2003.

Des Browne: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Museums: Grants

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which military museums the Department makes grants; and how much the grant for each was in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Gran t  in aid 
			  £ million 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08( 1) 
			 Royal Naval Museum 0.62 0.82 0.75 0.83 0.94 0.88 0.88 0.96 1.14 1.03 0.90 0.87 
			 Fleet Air Arm Museum 0.40 0.42 0.56 0.5 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.55 0.56 0.58 0.59 0.61 
			 Royal Navy Submarine Museum 0.28 0.32 0.37 0.53 0.44 0.49 0.49 0.51 0.65 0.55 0.56 0.58 
			 Royal Marines Museum 0.51 0.59 0.66 0.58 0.62 0.66 0.65 0.69 0.70 0.78 0.74 0.77 
			 National Army Museum 3.40 3.49 3.33 4.13 4.21 4.77 4.86 5.52 5.24 4.95 5.37 5.50 
			 Royal Air Force Museum 3.14 4.06 4.98 3.8 4.82 5.99 6.06 6.81 7.03 7.10 6.77 7.02 
			 (1) Estimate 
		
	
	In addition there are a number of regimental museums which have their costs paid direct by the Department.

Territorial Army

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army centres there were in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 26 March 2008
	In 1998 there were 455 Territorial Army Centres. Following the Strategic Defence Review a decision was taken to reduce this number to 341, with 27 being retained for use by cadet force units and the remainder being disposed of. As at 1 March 2008 there were 362 centres in use by the Territorial Army.
	Information on the specific number of Territorial Army Centres in existence in each year since 1998 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

War Pensions

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans of the Second World War are in receipt of a war pension.

Derek Twigg: Information on Veterans of the Second World War in receipt of a War Pensions could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Publications

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance is issued to members of his Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Civil Service Code, the Civil Service Management Code and Propriety Guidance on Government Communications, all provide guidance to staff on the publication of material relating to their official duties. Copies of each of these are in the Libraries of the House. They are also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Citizenship: Teachers

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to increase the number of initial teacher training and continuing professional development places for citizenship teachers.

Jim Knight: There are 270 Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places for Citizenship in 2007/08 and 265 in 2008/09 to 2010/11. Numbers of Citizenship ITT places are being kept at much the same level as they are now for the next three years despite significant reductions in pupil numbers.
	The Citizenship Continuing Professional Development certification course will be carried forward extended with similar levels of funding as 2007/08.

Education: Finance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding each local education authority in the East of England has received from his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect the information in the format requested and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children obtained fewer than five A* to C grades at GCSE, including mathematics and English, in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Numbers and  percentages of 15-year- old pupils in London who did not achieve 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE( 1) , including English and Mathematics( 2, 3)  1997  to  2007 
			   1997  1998  1999 
			  Local authority  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds  not  gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage  not  gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds  not  gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage  not  gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds  not  gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage  not  gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths 
			 City of London 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0 — 
			 Camden 1,689 1,097 64.9 1,717 1,123 65.4 1,657 1,077 65.0 
			 Hackney 1,333 1,103 82.7 1,368 1,137 83.1 1,412 1,156 81.9 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,018 687 67.5 981 638 65.0 961 589 61.3 
			 Haringey 1,725 1,416 82.1 1,805 1,445 80.1 1,778 1,387 78.0 
			 Islington 1,406 1,174 83.5 1,406 1,187 84.4 1,409 1,125 79.8 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 553 398 72.0 549 387 70.5 586 402 68.6 
			 Lambeth 1,236 1,006 81.4 1,252 1,005 80.3 1,252 965 77.1 
			 Lewisham 2,012 1,621 80.6 2,056 1,600 77.8 2,093 1,599 76.4 
			 Newham 2,691 2,066 76.8 2,733 2,079 76.1 2,865 2,171 75.8 
			 Southwark 1,786 1,480 82.9 1,795 1,469 81.8 1,860 1,490 80.1 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,334 1,983 85.0 2,254 1,854 82.3 2,241 1,785 79.7 
			 Wandsworth 1,656 1,271 76.8 1,633 1,203 73.7 1,710 1,268 74.2 
			 Westminster 1,327 1,028 77.5 1,285 966 75.2 1,273 951 74.7 
			  Inner London 20,766 16,330 78.6 20,834 16,093 77.2 21,097 15,965 75.7 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,712 1,336 78.0 1,686 1,306 77.5 1,699 1,290 75.9 
			 Barnet 3,252 1,880 57.8 3,244 1,730 53.3 3,268 1,724 52.8 
			 Bexley 2,507 1,614 64.4 2,494 1,555 62.3 2,553 1,552 60.8 
			 Brent 2,154 1,505 69.9 2,188 1,424 65.1 2,211 1,473 66.6 
			 Bromley 3,014 1,734 57.5 2,978 1,624 54.5 3,078 1,615 52.5 
			 Croydon 3,264 2,337 71.6 3,227 2,251 69.8 3,165 2,153 68.0 
			 Ealing 2,480 1,781 71.8 2,427 1,628 67.1 2,423 1,627 67.1 
			 Enfield 3,166 2,173 68.6 3,081 2,053 66.6 3,148 2,000 63.5 
			 Greenwich 2,415 1,935 80.1 2,333 1,789 76.7 2,349 1,813 77.2 
			 Harrow 2,082 1,250 60.0 2,074 1,205 58.1 1,994 1,112 55.8 
			 Havering 2,802 1,741 62.1 2,722 1,642 60.3 2,643 1,490 56.4 
			 Hillingdon 2,494 1,743 69.9 2,469 1,633 66.1 2,519 1,627 64.6 
			 Hounslow 2,601 1,787 68.7 2,492 1,592 63.9 2,526 1,609 63.7 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,315 727 55.3 1,327 681 51.3 1,326 709 53.5 
			 Merton 1,559 1,089 69.9 1,589 1,094 68.8 1,601 1,068 66.7 
			 Redbridge 2,609 1,584 60.7 2,635 1,469 55.7 2,738 1,465 53.5 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,547 982 63.5 1,437 856 59.6 1,479 857 57.9 
			 Sutton 2,004 1,057 52.7 1,964 958 48.8 2,042 964 47.2 
			 Waltham Forest 2,264 1,698 75.0 2,311 1,674 72.4 2,314 1,658 71.7 
			  Outer London 45,241 29,953 66.2 44,678 28,164 63.0 45,076 27,806 61.7 
			   
			  London 66,007 46,283 70.1 65,512 44,257 67.6 66,173 43,771 66.1 
			   
			  England (maintained sector) 537,661 362,671 67.5 527,538 348,045 66.0 533,730 341,930 64.1 
		
	
	
		
			   2000  2001  2002 
			  Local authority  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths 
			 City of London 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0 — 
			 Camden 1,690 1,037 61.4 1,636 986 60.3 1,434 897 62.6 
			 Hackney 1,406 1,086 77.2 1,381 1,043 75.5 1,438 1,100 76.5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,037 646 62.3 1,052 622 59.1 1,085 631 58.2 
			 Haringey 1,871 1,463 78.2 1,851 1,392 75.2 1,914 1,400 73.1 
			 Islington 1,364 1,125 82.5 1,352 1,068 79.0 1,382 1,078 78.0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 593 371 62.6 586 346 59.0 573 339 59.2 
			 Lambeth 1,256 998 79.5 1,282 962 75.0 1,262 911 72.2 
			 Lewisham 2,056 1,545 75.1 2,200 1,619 73.6 2,139 1,494 69.8 
			 Newham 2,973 2,285 76.9 2,991 2,135 71.4 2,962 2,057 69.4 
			 Southwark 1,830 1,435 78.4 1,861 1,434 77.1 1,952 1,473 75.5 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,338 1,859 79.5 2,477 1,908 77.0 2,411 1,791 74.3 
			 Wandsworth 1,736 1,194 68.8 1,782 1,172 65.8 1,790 1,122 62.7 
			 Westminster 1,331 965 72.5 1,272 886 69.7 1,309 867 66.2 
			  Inner London 21,481 16,009 74.5 21,723 15,573 71.7 21,651 15,160 70.0 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,723 1,267 73.5 1,721 1,245 72.3 1,701 1,184 69.6 
			 Barnet 3,304 1,728 52.3 3,399 1,817 53.5 3,428 1,685 49.2 
			 Bexley 2,641 1,563 59.2 2,827 1,720 60.8 2,785 1,620 58.2 
			 Brent 2,319 1,432 61.8 2,356 1,490 63.2 2,626 1,567 59.7 
			 Bromley 2,940 1,465 49.8 3,218 1,725 53.6 3,354 1,647 49.1 
			 Croydon 3,204 2,171 67.8 3,341 2,182 65.3 3,330 2,098 63.0 
			 Ealing 2,422 1,617 66.8 2,383 1,507 63.2 2,451 1,537 62.7 
			 Enfield 3,226 2,098 65.0 3,363 2,104 62.6 3,325 2,049 61.6 
			 Greenwich 2,313 1,783 77.1 2,303 1,749 75.9 2,357 1,769 75.1 
			 Harrow 2,090 1,132 54.2 2,040 1,083 53.1 2,074 1,065 51.4 
			 Havering 2,664 1,450 54.4 2,859 1,534 53.7 2,858 1,523 53.3 
			 Hillingdon 2,505 1,587 63.4 2,632 1,663 63.2 2,606 1,654 63.5 
			 Hounslow 2,569 1,634 63.6 2,620 1,652 63.1 2,596 1,520 58.6 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,327 633 47.7 1,378 637 46.2 1,390 660 47.5 
			 Merton 1,548 1,039 67.1 1,507 990 65.7 1,571 1,040 66.2 
			 Redbridge 2,901 1,521 52.4 2,810 1,308 46.5 2,879 1,372 47.7 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,435 840 58.5 1,477 815 55.2 1,470 845 57.5 
			 Sutton 2,039 894 43.8 2,213 1,026 46.4 2,255 962 42.7 
			 Waltham Forest 2,329 1,631 70.0 2,365 1,576 66.6 2,351 1,529 65.0 
			  Outer London 45,499 27,485 60.4 46,812 27,823 59.4 47,407 27,326 57.6 
			   
			  London 66,980 43,494 64.9 68,535 43,396 63.3 69,058 42,486 61.5 
			   
			  England (maintained sector) 534,343 335,196 62.7 554,506 343,261 61.9 558,002 337,539 60.5 
		
	
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  Local authority  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage  not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage  not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage  not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths 
			 City of London 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0 — 
			 Camden 1,420 851 59.9 1,429 817 57.2 1,457 866 59.4 
			 Hackney 1,403 1,031 73.5 1,283 871 67.9 1,292 851 65.9 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,129 648 57.4 1,184 685 57.9 1,147 613 53.4 
			 Haringey 1,981 1,411 71.2 2,150 1,482 68.9 2,090 1,418 67.8 
			 Islington 1,317 1,021 77.5 1,411 1,003 71.1 1,369 960 70.1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 588 323 54.9 579 315 54.4 575 273 47.5 
			 Lambeth 1,342 938 69.9 1,370 860 62.8 1,380 866 62.8 
			 Lewisham 2,231 1,560 69.9 2,294 1,551 67.6 2,209 1,391 63.0 
			 Newham 3,070 2,021 65.8 3,137 1,957 62.4 3,230 1,930 59.8 
			 Southwark 1,981 1,460 73.7 2,057 1,466 71.3 2,246 1,541 68.6 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,557 1,904 74.5 2,469 1,776 71.9 2,440 1,704 69.8 
			 Wandsworth 1,798 1,131 62.9 1,868 1,151 61.6 1,854 1,089 58.7 
			 Westminster 1,331 837 62.9 1,400 894 63.9 1,377 857 62.2 
			  Inner London 22,148 15,136 68.3 22,631 14,828 65.5 22,666 14,359 63.4 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,770 1,207 68.2 1,956 1,339 68.5 1,940 1,290 66.5 
			 Barnet 3,486 1,758 50.4 3,549 1,713 48.3 3,391 1,610 47.5 
			 Bexley 2,974 1,719 57.8 3,075 1,715 55.8 3,245 1,768 54.5 
			 Brent 2,646 1,584 59.9 2,644 1,535 58.1 2,604 1,391 53.4 
			 Bromley 3,380 1,746 51.7 3,618 1,860 51.4 3,495 1,705 48.8 
			 Croydon 3,493 2,237 64.0 3,619 2,259 62.4 3,721 2,218 59.6 
			 Ealing 2,681 1,620 60.4 2,682 1,626 60.6 2,581 1,400 54.2 
			 Enfield 3,361 2,073 61.7 3,431 2,040 59.5 3,525 2,035 57.7 
			 Greenwich 2,351 1,731 73.6 2,524 1,780 70.5 2,497 1,649 66.0 
			 Harrow 2,129 1,119 52.6 2,222 1,118 50.3 2,183 1,096 50.2 
			 Havering 2,870 1,442 50.2 3,066 1,501 49.0 3,014 1,515 50.3 
			 Hillingdon 2,671 1,705 63.8 2,933 1,844 62.9 2,933 1,798 61.3 
			 Hounslow 2,641 1,575 59.6 2,642 1,519 57.5 2,623 1,420 54.1 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,419 591 41.6 1,480 669 45.2 1,489 601 40.4 
			 Merton 1,568 1,004 64.0 1,595 1,020 63.9 1,532 947 61.8 
			 Redbridge 3,009 1,357 45.1 3,016 1,338 44.4 2,972 1,307 44.0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,478 766 51.8 1,476 769 52.1 1,491 798 53.5 
			 Sutton 2,326 1,016 43.7 2,628 1,086 41.3 2,474 1,005 40.6 
			 Waltham Forest 2,408 1,578 65.5 2,610 1,737 66.6 2,545 1,619 63.6 
			  Outer London 48,661 27,828 57.2 50,766 28,468 56.1 50,255 27,172 54.1 
			   
			  London 70,809 42,964 60.7 73,397 43,296 59.0 72,921 41,531 57.0 
			   
			  England (maintained sector) 572,040 346,077 60.5 590,096 351,633 59.6 583,265 335,905 57.6 
		
	
	
		
			   2006  2007 
			  Local  a uthority  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths  Number of 15 year old pupils  Number of 15 year olds not gaining 5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths  Percentage not gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths 
			 City of London 0 0 — 0 0 — 
			 Camden 1,482 810 54.7 1,444 793 54.9 
			 Hackney 1,397 889 63.6 1,323 777 58.7 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,151 588 51.1 1,078 455 42.2 
			 Haringey 2,116 1,392 65.8 2,066 1,300 62.9 
			 Islington 1,468 995 67.8 1,479 932 63 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 584 269 46.1 606 264 43.6 
			 Lambeth 1,406 824 58.6 1,423 838 58.9 
			 Lewisham 2,221 1,318 59.3 2,255 1,344 59.6 
			 Newham 3,307 1,947 58.9 3,316 1,854 55.9 
			 Southwark 2,333 1,536 65.8 2,282 1,408 61.7 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,566 1,707 66.5 2,527 1,610 63.7 
			 Wandsworth 1,847 1,078 58.4 1,793 957 53.4 
			 Westminster 1,395 830 59.5 1,371 746 54.4 
			  Inner London 23,273 14,183 60.9 22,963 13,273 57.8 
			
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,001 1,249 62.4 2,097 1,275 60.8 
			 Barnet 3,439 1,530 44.5 3,285 1,337 40.7 
			 Bexley 3,217 1,603 49.8 3,290 1,655 50.3 
			 Brent 2,581 1,321 51.2 2,654 1,340 50.5 
			 Bromley 3,584 1,648 46.0 3,484 1,557 44.7 
			 Croydon 3,791 2,183 57.6 3,803 2,126 55.9 
			 Ealing 2,646 1,370 51.8 2,631 1,342 51 
			 Enfield 3,640 2,082 57.2 3,729 1,961 52.6 
			 Greenwich 2,501 1,718 68.7 2,477 1,637 66.1 
			 Harrow 2,150 1,005 46.7 2,209 972 44 
			 Havering 3,059 1,392 45.5 3,072 1,425 46.4 
			 Hillingdon 2,972 1,685 56.7 3,048 1,695 55.6 
			 Hounslow 2,606 1,285 49.3 2,639 1,314 49.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,528 633 41.4 1,497 579 38.7 
			 Merton 1,570 951 60.6 1,611 971 60.3 
			 Redbridge 3,125 1,280 41.0 3,279 1,272 38.8 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,408 711 50.5 1,460 764 52.3 
			 Sutton 2,522 940 37.3 2,572 908 35.3 
			 Waltham Forest 2,588 1,586 61.3 2,595 1,505 58 
			  Outer London 50,928 26,172 51.4 51,432 25,613 49.8 
			
			  London 74,201 40,355 54.4 74,395 38,909 52.3 
			  
			  England (maintained sector) 593,061 332,453 56.1 599,403 325,476 54.3 
			 (1) Figures for 1997 include GCSEs and GNVQs. Figures from 2004 include GCSEs and other equivalent qualifications approved for use pre-16. (2) English and Mathematics refer to GCSE full course only. (3) Includes pupils at maintained schools including CTCs and Academies.

Geography: Assessments

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what response he has made to the recommendations of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority that A-level geography coursework be abolished; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Following the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's (QCA's) recommendations, the new criteria for A-level geography courses from September 2008 remove the requirement for coursework to be assessed. Fieldwork will, however, become a specific requirement in the A- level criteria from September 2008. QCA is working closely with the Geographical Association, Royal Geographical Society and awarding bodies to ensure that assessment methods continue to provide satisfactory ways of assessing fieldwork. Through the Action Plan for Geography, Government funding has set up a virtual fieldwork and local learning centre to help teachers make the most of geography in their local areas, including expert advice and planning on embedding fieldwork in the curriculum.

Physical Education: Standards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools were deemed to have unsatisfactory physical education and sports provision in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 1 April 2008:
	PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NUMBER 195963: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were deemed to have unsatisfactory physical education and sports provision in each of the last 10 years. Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	Between September 1996 and July 2005, inspectors made an overall judgement about the quality of teaching in each subject inspected. From September 2003 to July 2005, they made an additional judgement about the overall quality of provision in each subject inspected. These judgements were made using a seven point scale: excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, poor and very poor. Since September 2005 there has been no specific subject reporting in routine school inspections so we are unable to provide all the information you request. Since this time too physical education has been inspected in a sample of 30 primary and 30 secondary schools each year.
	The information requested is set out in the three tables attached. The first shows the overall quality of provision in physical education in 2003/04 and 2004/05 and the second and third show the overall quality of teaching in physical education between 1997/98 and 2004/05. Figures 4-6 show these same data in terms of percentage of schools inspected. Please note that these percentages are calculated from weighted data so that they provide a more accurate representation of English schools as a whole at that time.
	These data cover three different inspection frameworks (1996, 2000 and 2003) and comparisons should be treated with caution as the guidance used by inspectors varied between different frameworks.
	In addition, the 2000 framework incorporated a differentiated inspection system in which the most effective schools had short inspections and other schools had full inspections. There was detailed reporting on each subject only in full inspections.
	The 2003 framework also involved a differentiated inspection system in which inspectors tailored the inspection to the school. In schools where the core subjects were weak, more time was allocated to the inspection of these subjects while less time was given to other subjects and teaching in physical education was not always observed in the course of a given inspection. Therefore these data do not cover all the schools inspected during this period and this is more likely to be the case in primary than in secondary schools.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			  Figure 1. Overall quality of provision, based on effectiveness, in the area of learning, subject or course—physical education 
			   Number of schools 
			   Total inspected  Excellent  Very good  Good  Satisfactory  Unsatisfactory  Poor  Very poor 
			  Primary schools 
			 2004/05 772 4 86 383 290 9 0 0 
			 2003/04 1,829 9 131 763 879 47 0 0 
			  
			  Secondary schools 
			 2004/05 480 9 135 241 74 18 3 0 
			 2003/04 616 9 127 335 120 23 2 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Figure 2. Quality of teaching of physical education in primary schools 
			   Number of schools 
			   Total inspected  Excellent  Very good  Good  Satisfactory  Unsatisfactory  Poor  Very poor 
			 2006/07 — — — — — — — — 
			 2005/06 — — — — — — — — 
			 2004/05 741 3 96 418 220 4 0 0 
			 2003/04 1,622 4 121 879 593 25 0 0 
			 2002/03 2,110 5 103 1,053 912 37 0 0 
			 2001/02 2,263 2 104 1,077 1,037 42 1 0 
			 2000/01 2,356 2 93 1,100 1,116 43 2 0 
			 1999/2000(1) 1,537 1 57 698 750 28 3 0 
			 1998/99 3,331 1 81 1,460 1,734 54 1 0 
			 1997/98 5,915 5 171 2,478 3,069 186 6 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Figure 3. Quality of teaching of physical education in secondary schools 
			   Number of schools 
			   Total inspected  Excellent  Very good  Good  Satisfactory  Unsatisfactory  Poor  Very poor 
			 2006/07 — — — — — — — — 
			 2005/06 — — — — — — — — 
			 2004/05 481 2 119 290 56 14 0 0 
			 2003/04 619 2 100 416 88 13 0 0 
			 2002/03 439 0 63 303 69 4 0 0 
			 2001/02 446 0 40 304 89 13 0 0 
			 2000/01 462 0 41 331 88 4 0 0 
			 1999/2000(1) 259 1 21 182 52 3 0 0 
			 1998/99 767 0 52 490 206 16 2 1 
			 1997/98 623 1 36 400 181 5 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Figure 4. Overall quality of provision, based on effectiveness, in the area of learning, subject or course—physical education 
			   Percentage 
			   Excellent  Very good  Good  Satisfactory  Unsatisfactory  Poor  Very poor 
			  Primary schools
			 2003/04 1 8 42 47 2 0 0 
			 2004/05 1 11 50 37 1 0 0 
			 
			  Secondary schools
			 2003/04 2 21 54 19 4 0 0 
			 2004/05 2 28 51 15 4 1 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Figure 5. Quality of teaching of physical education in primary schools 
			   Percentage 
			   Excellent  Very good  Good  Satisfactory  Unsatisfactory  Poor  Very poor 
			 2006/07 — — — — — — — 
			 2005/06 — — — — — — — 
			 2004/05 0 13 56 30 1 0 0 
			 2003/04 0 8 55 35 2 0 0 
			 2002/03 0 5 50 43 2 0 0 
			 2001/02 0 5 48 46 2 0 0 
			 2000/01 0 4 47 47 2 0 0 
			 1999/2000(1) 0 4 45 49 2 0 0 
			 1998/99 0 2 44 52 2 0 0 
			 1997/98 0 3 42 52 3 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Figure 6. Quality of teaching of physical education in secondary schools 
			   Percentage 
			   Excellent  Very good  Good  Satisfactory  Unsatisfactory  Poor  Very poor 
			 2006/07 — — — — — — — 
			 2005/06 — — — — — — — 
			 2004/05 0 25 60 12 3 0 0 
			 2003/04 0 17 67 14 2 0 0 
			 2002/03 0 14 69 16 1 0 0 
			 2001/02 0 9 68 20 3 0 0 
			 2000/01 0 9 72 19 1 0 0 
			 1999/2000(1) 0 8 70 20 1 0 0 
			 1998/99 0 7 65 26 2 0 0 
			 1997/98 0 6 66 28 1 0 0 
			 (1 )The framework change in January 2000 means that data for that year cannot be aggregated across two frameworks so the data shown are for inspections from January 2000 to July 2000.

Primary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many key stage two pupils did not reach level 4 or above in a combination of reading, writing and mathematics key stage two tests in 2007;
	(2)  how many primary schools there were in which less than 50 per cent. of key stage two pupils gained level 4 or above in a combination of reading, writing and mathematics key stage two tests;
	(3)  how many primary schools there were in which less than 50 per cent. of key stage two pupils gained level 4 or above in a combination of English, mathematics and science key stage two tests.

Jim Knight: The provisional results from the Key Stage 2 tests in 2007 published last August show that 40 per cent. of pupils did not reach level 4 or above in a combination of reading, writing and mathematics (see table 5 of the Statistical First Release on National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 in England, 2007 (Provisional), via the following link:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000737/index.shtml
	This represents a considerable improvement since 1997 when over two thirds of 11-year-olds failed to reach this standard.
	The available information on level 4 achievement in combinations of subjects at school level shows that there were 3,655 schools with 50 per cent. of pupils (or less) achieving Level 4+ in reading, writing and mathematics. Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	These figures are based on provisional data because the reading and writing figures are not checked by schools as part of the Achievement and Attainment tables checking exercise.

Pupil Exclusions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government plan to take to improve the handling of children excluded from school.

Kevin Brennan: Revised exclusions guidance published in September 2007, put local authorities under a duty to arrange suitable full time education from the sixth day of exclusion for children permanently excluded. For fixed period exclusions, this sixth day duty lies with the school.
	Furthermore, the Children's Plan, published in December, set out our commitment to improve provision outside school for excluded pupils and other pupils who for a range of reasons are unable to attend a mainstream school. A copy of the Plan is in the Library. We plan to publish a strategy paper on how we expect to take the Children's Plan commitment forward in the summer.

Pupils: Play

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what information his Department has collected on the amount of time children spend in free play during school hours; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect the information requested.

Respect Squads

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 783W, on respect squads, what the qualifications are for appointment as a nationally recognised expert practitioner in a respect squad; what support they offer local partners; and who those partners are.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	Responsibility for the respect squad now rests with the Home Office which provides support to local delivery partners in tackling antisocial behaviour. The members of the respect squad were chosen for their experience and expertise at a national level in the field of antisocial behaviour. All members are highly qualified professionals from local authorities, the police and the independent sector. They are skilled practitioners in antisocial behaviour law and practice, and in particular, in their specialisms as principle solicitors, police professionals and heads of antisocial behaviour services. In addition, all members are experienced in training and advising other professionals in this field. The future role of the squad is currently under review.

Schools: Admissions

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many head teachers, school governors and members of academy trusts were disciplined for breaches of the Admissions Code in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: From a recent examination of the admission arrangements of schools in three local authority areas, we found evidence to suggest a significant minority appeared to contain aspects that did not comply with the relevant statutory requirements. We have written to the admission authorities concerned (either the local authority or school governing body) to verify our findings and will present detailed information to Parliament in due course.
	To ensure admission arrangements fully comply with the law for 2009, I have written to all admission authorities across the country to remind them of their statutory duties and we are taking measures to further strengthen the admissions system. As announced in the Secretary of State's written statements of 11 and 17 March, we have launched a consultation to increase the period within which objections against unfair or unlawful arrangements are referred to the Schools Adjudicator for investigation and are introducing amendments to the Education and Skills Bill to improve the process by which admission arrangements are consulted on.

Schools: Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on his Department's policy regarding visits by armed forces personnel to schools;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with the National Union of Teachers on the provision of materials on  (a) the armed forces and  (b) Iraq to schools; and what steps have been taken as a result of such discussions.

Jim Knight: The Department received one letter from the National Union of Teachers (NUT) in October 2007, drawing the attention of the Secretary of State to teaching materials which were being prepared by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The letter sought reassurance that action would be taken to ensure that all materials issued by the MOD were compliant with sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996. The Secretary of State responded that the Department does not endorse or promote specific teaching resources or methods, and that sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 place the duty on teachers to secure balanced treatment of political issues.
	The Department is supportive of activities that help children and young people understand the role of the armed forces and we are in discussions with the Ministry of Defence as to how we might increase access to Cadet Forces and Army Cadet Forces for pupils in state schools. However, it is for head teachers to determine whether to invite armed forces personnel to visit their schools.

Schools: Nurses

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school nurses there are in England.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	The annual national health service work force census collected accurate information on the number of school nurses employed by the NHS in England for the first time in 2004. The number of school nurses from 2004-07 is shown in the following table.
	The 2007 census showed there were 2,232 qualified nurses in the school nursing area of work in England, an increase of 613 or 37.86 per cent. since 2004. Of these there were 893 school nurses with a post registration school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 286 or 47.12 per cent. since 2004.
	
		
			  School nurse numbers—England 
			   2004  2005  2006( 1)  2007  Increase 2004-07  Percentage increase since 2004 
			  Headcount   
			 School nursing service nurses 2,409 2,887 2,968 3,162 753 31.25 
			  of which:   
			 Nurses with a post registration school nursing qualification 856 943 1,129 1,227 371 43.3 
			
			  Full-time equivalent   
			 School nursing service nurses 1,619 1,913 2,053 2,232 613 37.86 
			  of which:   
			 Nurses with a post registration school nursing qualification 607 665 815 893 286 47.12 
			 (1) More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full-time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care, Non-Medical Workforce Census, general and personal medical services statistics.

Schools: Nurses

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in England do not have access to a school nurse.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	Information is not collected centrally on how many schools in England do not have access to a school nurse.
	It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local authorities, strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of school nursing services.

Specialised Diplomas: Independent Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which independent schools are planning to offer diplomas; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: One independent school, Polam Hall School in Darlington local authority, is part of a consortium that has approval to deliver Diplomas in September 2009. The Government encourage independent schools to deliver Diplomas. It is important for Diplomas to be available in all parts of the education sector. We are working closely with the independent schools' associations to encourage independent schools to join 14-19 consortia.

TREASURY

Births: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many babies have been born at the Queen's hospital, Romford since it was opened.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	This requested information is not collected centrally.
	The hon. Member may wish to raise this matter with the chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals National Health Service Trust, of which Queen's hospital is a part.

Council Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Lembit �pik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether consideration has been given to reducing the VAT rate on renovation work to social housing; whether there are legal barriers that would prevent such a VAT rate reduction; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: European VAT agreements allow for the application of a reduced VAT rate, of not less than 5 per cent. for the 'provision, construction, renovation and alteration of housing, as part of a social policy'. This is subject to the general Community law principles of equal treatment and fiscal neutrality, under which similar supplies are usually taxed at the same VAT rate.
	The Government keep the impact of VAT on different types of building work under review, and since 1997 have introduced VAT rate reductions to support the regeneration and renewal of housing stock, and domestic energy efficiency. At Budget 2008 the Chancellor announced that the Government would explore the case for further targeted and cost-effective VAT measures for the refurbishment and renovation of dwellings that are of too poor quality to rent or sell.

Devolution: Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reviews of the Barnett formula have been undertaken by the Government since 1997; and when he plans to publish the factual paper on the Barnett formula to support the Scottish parliamentary review of the devolution settlement.

Yvette Cooper: The Barnett formula is regularly updated in spending reviews. The Treasury will publish a factual paper on the Barnett formula in due course.

Exercise: Health Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to promote increased cardiovascular exercise by persons under 40 years of age.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department and the national health service promote the benefits of physical activity to people of all ages and are keen to target those individuals most at risk of inactivity.
	Action includes the piloting of a physical activity care pathway model in a number of general practitioner practices in London, targeting sedentary adults while the National Step-o-meter programme is already providing training and free loan pedometers to health professionals for use with inactive patients.
	Other examples of current action include:
	in total 86 per cent. of school children now do at least two hours of quality sport a week and we aim to offer every child and young person the chance of five hours sport a week by 2011;
	over 91 per cent. of schools are now participating in the Healthy Schools Programme;
	the National School Pedometer Programme is distributing 45,000 pedometers to encourage children to become more active;
	a further 140 million funding for Cycling England has been announced;
	new investment of 225 million outlined in the Children's Plan to allow up to 3,500 playgrounds to be rebuilt or renewed; and
	a 372 million investment in this Cross-Government Obesity StrategyHealthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England, to enable people to maintain a healthier weight for a healthier life.
	A copy of this publication is available in the Library.

Government Departments: Annual Reports

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance provided by his Department to other Government Departments on what should be included in their 2008 departmental annual reports.

Angela Eagle: A copy of the guidance to Departments on their spring 2008 departmental reports has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Pensioners: Standard of Living

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government have taken to improve living standards for pensioners in  (a) the UK,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	Latest available information shows that average net incomes of pensioner households in the UK increased by 29 per cent. between 1996-97 and 2005-06, and average net incomes of pensioner households in the north east increased by 29 per cent. between 1994-95 to 1996-97 and 2003-04 to 2005-06. Information for the Tees Valley and Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland is not available.
	The Government have introduced a number of measures since 1997 to help older people to enjoy a better standard of living, most notably the introduction of the minimum income guarantee and its successor pension credit. We have successively raised the pension credit standard minimum guarantee by earnings in every year since its introduction. For 2008 the standard minimum guarantee will rise to 124.05an increase of 4.2 per cent.more than keeping pace with earnings and prices.
	In addition we have introduced winter fuel payments for those aged 60 and over, including an extra one-off payment for winter 2008-09 of 50 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and 100 for those with someone aged 80 or over announced in the Budget on 12 March 2008.
	We have also introduced free television licences for people aged over 75 and from April 2008 those over 60 will be entitled to free off-peak bus travel in England. We have committed to increasing the basic state pension by earnings by 2012, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, or by the end of the next Parliament.
	As a result of the personal tax and benefit changes that we have introduced, pensioner households nationally will be around 1,500 a year better off in 2008-09 than they would have been under the 1997 system. The poorest third of pensioner households will on average be around 2,100 a year better off.
	Our new public service agreement 'Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and wellbeing in later life' demonstrates our commitment to ensure that the specific needs of the older population are given due priority.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent employees worked in HM Revenue and Customs criminal investigation arm in each year since its creation.

Jane Kennedy: The number of full-time equivalent employees that have worked in HM Revenue and Customs criminal investigation directorate since its creation in 2005-06 are as follows:
	
		
			   Staff in post (FTE) 
			 2005-06 1,601 
			 2006-07 1,817 
			 2007-08 1,827

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax collectors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor in each year since 1979; how much tax revenue they collected in each year; how many are expected to be employed in each of the next three years; and how much is expected to be collected by them in each year.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 17 March
	Most of the staff in HM Revenue and Customs, and its predecessor departments, Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, are employed directly or indirectly in the collection of tax. However, because of departmental reorganisation it is not possible to provide directly comparable figures for each of the years in question.
	In 2006-07, the average number of people HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) employed in the collection of taxes (taken from Note 9 of the 2006-07 Resource Account) was 89,746. This figure does not include staff working on child benefit and child trust fund. HMRC collected 423.443 billion in tax in 2006-07, and in 2007-08 383.701 billion up to the end of February 2008.
	Staff numbers and the amount of tax collected for earlier years are published in previous annual reports and accounts for HMRC and its predecessor departments.
	Detailed staffing estimates for each of the next three years are not available, but HMRC has indicated that it expects by 2011 to be operating with around 25,000 fewer posts than the baseline SR04 figure of 97,755 full-time equivalent posts on 1 April 2004.
	Table C6 of Budget 2008 (HC 388) gives estimates of future receipts.

Revenue and Customs: Surveys

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the conclusions of HM Revenue and Customs' latest staff satisfaction survey.

Jane Kennedy: I have done so.

Revenue and Customs: Visits Abroad

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many overseas visits were made by staff working on tax credits in each of the last five years; which destinations were visited; and at what cost in each year.

Jane Kennedy: Staff from different parts of HMRC's business can be involved in tax credits work and an overseas visit will often cover a range of departmental topics. In such circumstances it would not be possible to isolate the information requested so it can be attributed specifically to tax credits.
	However HMRC and HMT staff working on tax credits visited Australia and New Zealand early in 2008 to learn from their experiences. Total costs were around 15,000.

Road Traffic: North East

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of congestion on roads in the North East on the local economy.

Yvette Cooper: Treasury does not routinely assess every economic impact on every locality, and has made no specific assessment of the effect of congestion on local economies in the North East.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times staff from HM Revenue and Customs criminal investigation arm have met officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Agency since the Agency's creation.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC criminal investigation is actively engaged with SOCA and staff meet on a regular basis.
	A formal record of all meetings is not held centrally.

Tax Havens: EC Action

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with European counterparts on the regulatory regime affecting tax havens in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: Issues concerning tax havens and tax evasion were discussed at ECOFIN on 4 March. The UK and other member states made clear their determination to tackle cross-border tax evasion and invited the European Commission to bring forward its review of the savings directive, which enshrines the principle of exchange of information as the means of combating tax evasion. The savings directive is complemented by agreements with countries and territories outside the EU. There will be further discussions in the coming months.
	The UK is also actively involved in promoting OECD standards of transparency through tax information exchange agreements between offshore jurisdictions and OECD countries.

Taxation: Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2327W, on taxation: trade unions, which trade unions subscription fees are eligible for tax relief under section 344 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

Jane Kennedy: A record of all organisations, including trade unions, eligible for tax relief under section 344 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 can be found on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.pdf

VAT: Personal Care Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the revenue to be raised by charging VAT to the users of saunas and spas within leisure centres backdated in respect of  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007;
	(2)  what legal advice his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on charging back- dated value added tax on charities running leisure centres with spas and saunas;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects of charging back-dated value added tax to charities which run leisure centres which offer spa and sauna facilities;
	(4)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on leisure centres liability for back-dated value added tax where those leisure centres allow swimmers access to saunas or spas.

Jane Kennedy: There have been no recent changes to the VAT rules for supplies made by leisure centres. No estimate has been made of revenue properly due from leisure centres on charges made for use of their saunas and spas between 2005 and 2007.
	HM Revenue and Customs regularly receives and evaluates legal and other advice on the administration of the VAT rules, and its statutory duties in relation to the collection of VAT that is properly due. Treasury Ministers are also in regular discussion with Ministers in other Departments on a range of issues.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 March 2008,  Official Report, column 722W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Clive Efford).

Welfare Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Tax Credit Office's target is for responding to  (a) letters,  (b) telephone calls and  (c) e-mails from (i) hon. Members and (ii) members of the public; and how many in each category were answered within the target time in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: It is HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) aim to reply to the majority of all letters within three weeks. There is no separate target for e-mails.
	The majority of telephone enquiries to Tax Credit Office are dealt with as they are received.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 18 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 368-69W.

Welfare Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in the administration of tax credits in each quarter since April 2003.

Jane Kennedy: Information about the number of staff engaged in tax credits administration each year is contained in part 2, table 1 of the comptroller and auditor general's standard report in the 2006-07 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) accounts, which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-accounts2007.htm
	Quarterly information would only be available at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people  (a) left the Tax Credit Office and  (b) were recruited to permanent posts in the Tax Credit Office in each year since 2003; what proportion of current staff are employed on (i) a temporary basis and (ii) contracts of less than one year; and what the average salary is of staff working in (A) the Tax Credit Office and (B) HM Revenue and Customs as a whole.

Jane Kennedy: For the information requested at  (a) and  (b) I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 898W.
	The proportion of Tax Credit Office staff on temporary contracts is around 12.5 per cent. and none of those contracts have been for less than one year.
	The average salary of staff at all grades working in TCO is (A) 24,400 and in HM Revenue and Customs as a whole is (B) 23,300.

Welfare Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit award notices were sent out in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Award notices are issued at the following points in the tax credits cycle:
	An initial award notice, following a successful claim.
	An amended award notice when a claimant notifies HMRC of a change of circumstances or income during a year.
	A finalised award notice following the completion of the renewal process.
	Where payments are continuing following a finalised award for one year, an award notice is issued to advise of the provisional payments HMRC will be making for the subsequent year.
	Award notices issued each year since 2003 are as follows:
	
		
			   Total 
			 2003-04 21,000,000 
			 2004-05 34,000,000 
			 2005-06 37,500,000 
			 2006-07 32,000,000 
			 2007-08(1) 29,000,000 
			 (1) To end February

Welfare Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit awards were paid into foreign bank accounts in each year since April 2003.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.

Welfare Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 900W, on welfare tax credits, if he will place in the Library the six Office of Government Commerce Gateway reports on the new tax credits programme.

Jane Kennedy: The disclosure of such reviews is currently the subject of proceedings in the High Court in an unrelated case.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Air Navigation Order 2000

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Air Navigation Order 2000 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Alcoholic Drinks: Enforcement

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to reduce under-age drinking in the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 March 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 27 March 2008,  Official Report, column 423W.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has plans to meet representatives of the Portman Group to discuss  (a) binge and (b) under-age drinking; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Secretary has no current plans to meet with representatives of the Portman Group, but the Government continue to work with members of the alcohol industry to address issues such as binge and under-age drinking.
	We are aware that our Department of Health colleagues have regular contact with the Portman Group regarding a number of proposals and will continue this support to further reduce alcohol-related harms. A joint industry and Government officials seminar is due to be held on 24 April 2008 to consider how to further promote sensible drinking.
	Additionally, representatives from the Portman Group will be invited to the Prime Minister's summit on alcohol which is likely to take place later in the spring.

Asylum: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people living in York seeking asylum in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives. The location of those asylum seekers not in receipt of support is not available.
	The number of asylum seekers in receipt of support is available, broken down by Government office region, local authority and parliamentary constituency; these regional breakdowns are available from December 2002.
	The number of asylum seekers in receipt of support is published on a quarterly and annual basis. Copies of these publications are available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	Further breakdowns by parliamentary constituency are available from the Library of the House.

Bigamy

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of bigamy were recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Table 1 gives the number of offences of bigamy recorded by the police and the number detected by means of a sanction detection. Table 2 shows the numbers of defendants proceeded against and found guilty at all courts for bigamy for the years 1997 to 2006, and is taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Recorded crime and court proceedings statistics are from two different databases and recorded in quite different ways. Recorded crime data are provided on a financial year basis and count offences whereas court proceedings data are on a calendar year basis and count offenders. Therefore, these two separate data-sets are not directly comparable.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences of bigamy recorded by the police and detected by means of a sanction detection1997 to 2006-07 
			   Number of offences  Number of sanction detections 
			 1997 75 n/a 
			 1997-98 106 n/a 
			 1998-99 129 n/a 
			 1999-2000 83 n/a 
			 2000-01 80 n/a 
			 2001-02 74 33 
			 2002-03 88 38 
			 2003-04 71 47 
			 2004-05 104 44 
			 2005-06 101 47 
			 2006-07 61 37 
			 n/a = Not available 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for bigamy offence, England and Wales 1997  to  2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Offence  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 1997 22 16 
			 1998 30 18 
			 1999 40 28 
			 2000 17 12 
			 2001 23 17 
			 2002 31 16 
			 2003 29 20 
			 2004 22 22 
			 2005 28 21 
			 2006 23 11 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) The found guilty column can often exceed the number proceeded against when a conviction takes place in a different month to when the proceeding was originally brought, or for a different offence.

Burglary: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) burglaries and  (b) sanction detections for burglaries there were in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Offences of burglary recorded by the police and the number of sanction detections by London borough are available from 2000-01 and are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1 :  Offences of burglary recorded and detected by means of a sanction detection by London borough, 2000-01 and 2001-02 
			  Number 
			   2000-01  2001-02 
			  Borough  Offences  Sanction detections  Offences  Sanction detections 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,970 132 2,220 149 
			 Barnet 4,107 438 3,954 546 
			 Bexley 2,583 379 2,394 186 
			 Brent 4,441 404 4,099 471 
			 Bromley 3,263 272 3,580 278 
			 Camden 5,305 707 5,857 765 
			 City of Westminster 5,403 563 5,646 666 
			 Croydon 3,779 392 4,131 498 
			 Ealing 4,637 311 4,533 404 
			 Enfield 3,973 514 4,411 349 
			 Greenwich 3,050 399 2,794 304 
			 Hackney 4,298 667 4,287 518 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,076 263 2,789 334 
			 Haringey 4,159 430 4,803 444 
			 Harrow 2,791 185 2,623 200 
			 Havering 2,356 120 2,567 166 
			 Hillingdon 4,085 213 3,643 297 
			 Hounslow 3,415 253 3,192 261 
			 Islington 4,292 552 4,567 508 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,555 306 2,826 255 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,349 139 1,180 144 
			 Lambeth 6,150 400 6,974 453 
			 Lewisham 3,287 688 3,490 488 
			 Merton 1,792 114 1,967 189 
			 Newham 3,460 202 3,886 263 
			 Redbridge 2,798 191 2,899 186 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,384 161 2,174 201 
			 Southwark 4,235 428 5,016 676 
			 Sutton 1,471 111 1,820 223 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,714 431 3,262 434 
			 Waltham Forest 3,123 314 4,012 304 
			 Wandsworth 4,023 272 4,352 372 
			 Total 112,324 10,951 115,948 11,532 
			  Note: Figures in this table were prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences of burglary recorded and detected by means of a sanction detection by London borough, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  Number 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Borough  Offences  Sanction detections  Offences  Sanction detections  Offences  Sanction detections  Offences  Sanction detections  Offences  Sanction detections 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,012 230 2,240 241 2,175 254 1,921 350 2,117 295 
			 Barnet 4,039 527 3,978 362 4,045 323 4,363 465 3,904 744 
			 Bexley 2,341 312 2,226 210 1,986 178 2,366 280 2,076 235 
			 Brent 3,859 204 4,062 356 3,987 669 3,904 1,008 3,330 1,133 
			 Bromley 3,596 306 3,472 351 3,776 448 3,926 436 3,588 375 
			 Camden 5,884 629 4,843 521 4,171 471 4,108 648 4,322 715 
			 City of Westminster 5,264 878 4,296 907 4,497 918 4,158 664 3,801 679 
			 Croydon 4,115 638 3,769 379 3,230 353 3,582 361 3,464 536 
			 Ealing 4,543 316 4,375 357 4,350 341 4,999 535 3,957 633 
			 Enfield 4,301 705 3,865 476 3,528 431 3,844 524 3,638 464 
			 Greenwich 2,986 350 3,080 307 2,970 376 3,209 291 3,241 319 
			 Hackney 4,807 688 4,327 334 3,897 508 3,547 645 2,687 496 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,089 254 2,827 262 3,023 269 3,052 282 2,732 316 
			 Haringey 4,356 695 4,115 567 4,084 451 3,841 612 3,559 824 
			 Harrow 2,736 313 2,626 355 2,178 300 2,446 795 1,959 642 
			 Havering 2,386 249 2,161 190 2,315 183 2,453 331 2,511 328 
			 Hillingdon 3,569 365 3,183 324 3,143 331 3,137 406 3,182 427 
			 Hounslow 3,374 342 3,450 323 2,969 425 2,982 469 2,594 395 
			 Islington 4,429 856 3,957 755 3,681 609 3,683 783 3,728 965 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,512 289 2,576 370 2,580 289 2,444 293 2,182 358 
			 Kingston upon Thames 985 158 939 160 984 157 1,188 283 1,038 307 
			 Lambeth 5,694 681 4,980 571 4,150 492 3,884 629 3,685 364 
			 Lewisham 3,708 507 3,837 335 3,778 451 3,524 410 3,579 379 
			 Merton 1,930 186 2,034 288 1,764 241 1,796 208 1,828 479 
			 Newham 3,494 299 3,398 313 3,410 322 4,112 513 3,371 709 
			 Redbridge 2,974 214 2,990 279 3,058 283 3,282 508 3,053 289 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,120 362 1,787 224 2,017 167 2,395 315 2,085 268 
			 Southwark 4,885 668 4,556 604 4,411 485 4,143 937 4,087 735 
			 Sutton 1,446 191 1,397 196 1,429 122 1,480 121 1,451 199 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,567 389 3,023 426 3,070 484 3,467 573 2,890 329 
			 Waltham Forest 3,812 376 3,284 258 3,144 242 3,131 299 3,116 315 
			 Wandsworth 4,547 703 3,664 430 3,616 295 3,108 433 3,943 341 
			 Total 113,360 13,880 105,317 12,031 101,416 11,868 103,475 15,407 96,698 15,593 
			  Note: Figures in this table are after the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Census Act 1920

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 89 of the Census Act 1920 in each year since 1997, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Closed Circuit Television: Licensing

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of Scottish local authorities that are  (a) precluded and  (b) have been previously precluded for any periods since October 2007 from operating the installed closed-circuit television security networks because of delays in processing operative applications for licences by the Security Industry Authority.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The information necessary to make such an assessment is not available.

Closed Circuit Television: Licensing

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of applications for licences submitted by applicants resident in Scotland to the Security Industry Authority during 2007 which remain outstanding, broken down by local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 March 2008
	None. The Security Industry Authority does not hold data in a form which would enable information on numbers of applications from applicants resident in Scotland or smaller areas to be readily obtained. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Constituencies: Correspondence

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to locate the representations made by a constituent of the hon. Member for Vauxhall (reference 0161985); when it was first discovered that the representations had been misplaced; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 31 March 2008.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the appropriate 'Racially or religiously aggravated offence' classification or in the 'Other offences against the State and Public Order' offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Crime: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 339W, on crime: drugs, 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the performance of drug enforcement authorities in restricting imports of class A drugs into the UK;
	(2)  whether a decision has been made to stop measuring class A drug seizure quantities for drugs specifically destined for the UK.

Vernon Coaker: Given the uncertainty of the final destination of many of the drugs which are seized overseas the Government do not attempt to estimate the amounts which were destined for the UK. The Serious Organised Crime Agency and HM Revenue and Customs will record in the annual reports which they publish later this year the amounts of drugs where they have been involved in the seizures.

Crimes of Violence: Greater London

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) violent crimes and  (b) sanction detections for violent crimes there were in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: A number of changes have been made to recorded crime in response to suggestions in the two reviews of crime statistics. One such change is that the term 'violent crime' is no longer used in connection with the recorded crime statistics and we now provide figures for violence against the person.
	For London boroughs, offences of violence against the person recorded by the police are available from 1999-2000 and the number of sanction detections are available from 2000-01. The statistics are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences of violence against the person recorded and detected by means of a sanction detection by London borough: 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			  Borough  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections 
			 Barking and Dagenham 3,210 (1) 3,604 550 3,941 596 
			 Barnet 4,244 (1) 4,574 724 4,842 695 
			 Bexley 3,151 (1) 3,209 481 3,339 613 
			 Brent 5,407 (1) 5,775 988 5,688 914 
			 Bromley 3,224 (1) 3,800 652 3,843 786 
			 Camden 5,342 (1) 5,327 933 5,473 914 
			 City of Westminster 7,396 (1) 8,483 1,848 8,734 1,788 
			 Croydon 5,880 (1) 6,326 1,051 6,206 1,077 
			 Ealing 6,652 (1) 6,429 750 6,842 848 
			 Enfield 4,040 (1) 4,798 824 5,077 810 
			 Greenwich 6,234 (1) 6,308 1,035 6,257 881 
			 Hackney 6,655 (1) 6,320 1,129 6,702 1,150 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4,683 (1) 4,365 879 4,283 919 
			 Haringey 4,874 (1) 5,202 1,314 5,088 1,226 
			 Harrow 2,342 (1) 2,465 665 2,658 552 
			 Havering 2,661 (1) 2,787 552 3,225 623 
			 Hillingdon 3,713 (1) 4,094 595 4,766 762 
			 Hounslow 5,200 (1) 5,436 682 5,798 781 
			 Islington 5,255 (1) 5,443 932 5,667 1,053 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,294 (1) 3,314 571 3,063 643 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,422 (1) 2,495 415 2,667 474 
			 Lambeth 8,244 (1) 7,904 1,064 8,232 1,179 
			 Lewisham 5,051 (1) 5,331 1,302 5,501 1,174 
			 Merton 2,907 (1) 2,932 507 3,153 464 
			 Newham 7,261 (1) 7,344 969 7,550 1,166 
			 Redbridge 3,621 (1) 3,753 585 3,721 600 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,081 (1) 1,991 308 2,115 423 
			 Southwark 7,480 (1) 7,442 1,259 7,760 1,377 
			 Sutton 1,109 (1) 2,056 393 2,451 408 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,850 (1) 5,965 881 6,390 900 
			 Waltham Forest 4,862 (1) 4,804 697 4,973 750 
			 Wandsworth 5,012 (1) 4,862 693 5,002 744 
			 Total 147,357 (1) 154,938 26,228 161,007 27,290 
			  Note: Figures in this table were prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording standard in April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. (1) Not available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences of violence against the person recorded and detected by means of a sanction detection by London borough: 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			   Number of offences  Number of sanction detections  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections  Number of offences  Number of sanction detections 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,392 818 4,902 950 5,224 919 5,288 1,133 5,150 1,419 
			 Barnet 5,246 848 5,817 937 7,183 1,752 6,393 1,506 5,512 1,664 
			 Bexley 3,555 712 4,051 756 4,129 977 4,373 1,096 3,742 1,215 
			 Brent 6,297 902 7,371 951 9,135 1,626 8,253 2,025 6,216 1,773 
			 Bromley 4,728 918 5,003 1,094 5,762 1,276 5,499 1,221 5,697 1,917 
			 Camden 5,817 1,137 6,419 1,383 7,656 1,756 7,370 2,110 6,586 1,757 
			 City of Westminster 9,898 1,979 9,558 2,359 10,454 3,306 9,445 3,254 8,413 2,855 
			 Croydon 7,642 1,241 7,944 1,542 8,604 1,744 7,763 1,641 6,741 1,906 
			 Ealing 7,143 1,067 7,150 1,008 8,009 1,687 7,878 1,776 7,641 1,893 
			 Enfield 5,593 984 5,142 1,030 5,190 1,218 5,256 1,174 5,342 1,685 
			 Greenwich 6,892 1,005 6,855 1,117 7,870 1,549 7,713 1,717 7,486 2,096 
			 Hackney 6,810 1,296 7,141 1,293 7,288 1,624 7,471 1,898 7,148 2,055 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4,323 966 4,287 1,110 4,622 1,218 5,041 1,496 5,054 1,650 
			 Haringey 5,446 1,388 5,485 1,250 6,325 1,620 6,921 1,751 5,651 1,727 
			 Harrow 2,827 659 2,858 616 3,041 757 3,028 771 2,870 827 
			 Havering 3,901 697 3,922 629 4,191 979 4,172 1,123 3,639 1,477 
			 Hillingdon 4,983 882 5,222 793 5,921 1,417 6,261 1,824 5,911 1,905 
			 Hounslow 7,110 965 6,946 1,008 6,772 1,058 6,434 1,612 5,502 1,537 
			 Islington 6,347 1,006 6,607 1,422 7,617 2,159 7,002 2,111 6,289 2,147 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3,471 698 3,378 660 3,272 669 3,325 914 3,597 1,190 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2,857 382 3,447 470 3,520 738 3,240 830 3,003 1,089 
			 Lambeth 9,151 1,608 9,475 1,839 9,813 2,334 8,991 2,456 8,344 2,540 
			 Lewisham 5,709 1,134 6,664 1,392 7,858 1,547 8,463 1,901 8,062 2,114 
			 Merton 3,460 400 3,615 624 3,800 745 3,664 1,048 3,361 1,002 
			 Newham 8,096 1,280 8,210 1,365 7,976 1,441 8,421 1,603 7,578 2,148 
			 Redbridge 4,565 769 4,682 862 4,690 962 3,976 1,176 4,323 1,557 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,547 471 2,497 455 2,570 642 2,345 749 2,122 850 
			 Southwark 8,221 1,350 8,912 1,347 9,338 2,206 9,065 2,254 8,435 2,318 
			 Sutton 3,065 610 3,214 595 3,555 781 3,161 949 2,989 1,060 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,538 1,152 7,724 1,141 7,895 1,531 7,455 2,238 7,727 2,286 
			 Waltham Forest 5,427 794 6,002 853 6,241 1,222 6,831 1,563 6,052 1,697 
			 Wandsworth 5,354 1,040 5,336 929 5,898 1,100 6,139 1,320 5,647 1,513 
			 Total 178,411 31,158 185,836 33,780 210,419 44,560 196,637 50,240 181,830 54,869 
			  Note: Figures in this table are after the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Written Questions

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of Parliamentary questions for answer on a named day to her Department received a  (a) holding and  (b) substantive answer on the named day in each year since 2001.

Tony McNulty: Details of how many and what proportion of named day parliamentary questions the Home Office answered since 2006-07 is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Session 
			   2006-07  2007-08( 1) 
			 Named day questions received 1,260 404 
			 Answered substantively on the named day(2) 443 155 
			 Proportion answered substantively on the named day (percentage) 35 38 
			 (1) To 12 March 2008 (2) All questions not answered substantively on the named day receive a holding answer. 
		
	
	Information prior to 2006-07 is not held in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Written Questions

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many questions for written answer to her Department had not received an answer as at 25 February 2008 for  (a) between two and four,  (b) between four and six,  (c) between six and eight and  (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Questions that had not received an answer as at 25 February 2008 
			   Questions awaiting answer 
			  Weeks  Ordinary written  Named day 
			 2-4 61 10 
			 4-6 37 10 
			 6-8 10 4 
			 8 plus 47 14

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of women who are experiencing domestic abuse who are not in receipt of assistance funded by the public purse.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 March 2008
	There are approximately 500 women per year who identify themselves as victims of domestic violence, who have been granted leave to enter the UK in order to marry a UK national, and whose leave to remain is subject to a condition that there shall be no recourse to public funds, in order to prevent abuse of the marriage concession.
	Recognising that their lack of access to public services may put them at risk of further abuse, the Government are developing a new scheme whereby victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds who successfully apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) will be able to have their housing and living costs met. The new scheme will be announced later in the spring.

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support she plans to make available to women subject to domestic abuse who are not entitled to existing provision on grounds of citizenship; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are aware of the problems faced by women with insecure immigration status who suffer domestic violence. We will shortly be announcing details of a new scheme where victims of domestic violence with no recourse to public funds will be eligible to receive support for their housing and living costs. Under the new scheme victims of domestic violence whose applications for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) are successful may qualify for a contribution towards these costs.
	The Home Office is also working with the Border and Immigration Agency to re-examine the fee regulations for domestic violence ILR applications, to ensure that genuine claims are not hampered by prohibitive costs.

Drugs: Caribbean

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to tackle drug trafficking into the UK from the Caribbean; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Preventing the importation of cocaine from the Caribbean region is a priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. The UK works closely with the Governments of the region and other international partners to disrupt trafficking and interdict consignments of illicit drugs.
	The FCO has invested in various counter-narcotics projects in the Caribbean through its Global Opportunities Fund's drugs and crime programme. Projects such as the UK Security Advisory Team based in Bridgetown have helped to build capacity among various Caribbean law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.
	HM Revenue and Customs Operation Airbridge was set up in 2002 to reduce the number of couriers arriving in the UK from Jamaica and since its inception the number of couriers arriving in the UK has fallen from about 1,000 to five in the last financial year.
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency maintains a team of resident liaison officers in the region, which works with local partners, US agencies, and others, against major organised crime syndicates. In the Caribbean region during 2007-08 this operational work led to the seizure of 1 tonne of cocaine and 6.5 tonnes of cannabis, and to the arrest of a total of 76 suspects.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds have been made available to  (a) Thames Valley Police force and  (b) Oxfordshire County Council to further the Government's 2008 drug strategy: Tackling drugs, changing lives.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has a provisional allocation of 804,860 from the Drug Interventions Programme for Thames Valley police force in 2008-09. This funding is for drug testing those arrested or charged with trigger offences or for offences where there are grounds to suspect that class A drug use may have caused or contributed to the offence, and for the wider strategic delivery of DIP.
	The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) main grant is a Home Office grant aimed at getting adult drug-misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment and other support. The drug action team (DAT), a partnership of which Oxfordshire county council is a member, will receive (via the primary care trust) main grant funding of 1,213,041 for the Drug Interventions Programme in 2008-09. It is for the DAT to decide how best to use the funding to deliver the Drug Interventions Programme in their area, taking account of Home Office guidance.
	The Home Office, Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health are providing funding alongside mainstream funding to support local areas in preventing and reducing substance misuse-related harm (including illegal drugs, alcohol and volatile substances) for children and young people. The funding is routed through to all areas through the area-based grant which is paid on an un-ring-fenced basis to allow maximum flexibility, to primary care trusts through the Pooled Treatment Budget and to youth offending teams through the Youth Justice Board. Oxfordshire will receive funding of 356,613 in 2008-09.

Finance Act 2003

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Finance Act 2003 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in one of the following offence classifications:
	Offences against Laws relating to Customs, Excise and Inland Revenue; or
	Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements.
	These offences cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Firearms Act 1968

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Firearms Act 1968 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the 'Possession of weapons' or 'Firearms Act 1968 and other Firearms Acts' offence classifications and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Illegal Immigrants

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department gives to chief constables on the consideration to be given to duty of care to the community when considering the grant of authorisation for operations to remove illegal immigrants.

Liam Byrne: There is an agreed Memorandum of Understanding between the Border and Immigration Agency and each police force in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	This understanding ensures that all operations are risk assessed prior to deployment. Part of this risk assessment entails a community impact assessment being carried out by the police force governing the operation. Each police force reserves the right to veto any operation on grounds of adverse community reaction.

Immigration: Personal Records

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of records missing from the register of foreign nationals granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

Liam Byrne: There is no central register of people who have been given indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.
	Applications for indefinite leave have been recorded on the Case Information Database and on the United Kingdom Visa Database since 2003. There is no estimate made as to records missing from this database.

International Criminal Court Act 2001

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken by her Department since the International Criminal Court Act 2001 came into force to publicise its applicability to United Kingdom residents.

Meg Hillier: No special measures have been taken to publicise the Act's applicability to UK residents. The International Criminal Court (ICC) can only take jurisdiction over an offence committed in the UK or by a UK national if our domestic authorities are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute the case.
	The 2001 Act incorporates the offences of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes into domestic law so that our domestic authorities will always be in a position to investigate and prosecute any ICC crimes committed in this country, or committed overseas by a UK national, a UK resident or a person subject to UK Service jurisdiction.

Merchant Shipping Act 1995

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences ( a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in one of the following offence classifications as appropriate:
	Endangering life at sea;
	Public Health offences;
	Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements or
	Other indictable or triable either way offences.
	These offences cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

National Identity Register

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what access local authorities will have to the national identity register.

Meg Hillier: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 73W.

Offensive Weapons Act 1996

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences which would have been recorded under this legislation would be included in the 'Possession of Weapons' offences classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Offensive Weapons: Crime Prevention

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to reduce gun crime since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 1 April 2008
	 The Government have taken a range of action since 1997. This has focused on legislation, enforcement and prevention.
	Legislative measures include:
	the introduction of a five-year minimum sentence for unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm;
	the creation of a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon;
	banning the sale, manufacture and importation of realistic imitation firearms;
	doubling the sentence for the possession of an imitation firearm in public; and
	banning the sale, manufacture and importation of tandem cartridge air systems, such as the Brocock.
	On enforcement:
	We support the work of dedicated intelligence-led enforcement such as Operation Trident, which has a good track record in dealing with gun crime in London. Similar operations have been established in other priority areas.
	We held a national firearms amnesty in April 2003, which resulted in 44,000 guns and over a million rounds of ammunition being handed in and removed from circulation.
	In September 2007, we set up the Tackling Gangs Action Programme (TGAP), to focus work in areas of London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool which were particularly affected by street gangs and gun crime. A Day of Action in November 2007 resulted in 124 arrests. Further robust enforcement activity has followed, including during a targeted month of action during March 2008.
	TGAP has also been concentrating on the supply of firearms, with focused action on postal hubs and other potential supply routes.
	The Home Office supported the establishment of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, which is implementing an enhanced firearms forensic technology capability.
	And on prevention:
	The Government work with a wide range of delivery partners on initiatives which can help prevent gun violence. These include the Safer Schools Partnerships, whereby police officers are allocated to schools, providing young people with contact with police officers in a neutral setting; CrimeStoppers, which acts as a conduit for information on crime, including gun crime; From Boyhood to Manhood and other organisations which work intensively with vulnerable young people who have been excluded from school to help them reach their potential; and Street Pastors, who work in a number of inner city areas to help and support young people on the streets.
	The continued delivery of this programme of work will be taken forward through the Tackling Violence Action Plan, published on 18 February 2008.

Offensive Weapons: North East

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2301W, on offensive weapons, what information her Department holds on knife crime in  (a) the North East,  (b) Tees Valley district and  (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland.

Vernon Coaker: From the information collected centrally on recorded crime, it has historically not been possible to identify those offences where an assault with a knife resulted in an injury. The details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the recorded crime statistics.
	From April 2007, police forces have been collecting data on serious violence offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, to improve our understanding of the prevalence of these types of crime. The first full year's data will be available from July.

Paedophilia: Disclosure of Information

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her written ministerial statement of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 2-3WS, on tackling violence, what plans she has to allow members of the public to apply for information on arrests for child abuse.

Vernon Coaker: The review of the Protection of Children from Sex Offenders, published in June 2007, included two actions concerned with disclosing information on child sex offenders' convictions to members of the public, which were referred to in the ministerial statement. These actions are intended to build on existing practice, and were developed in consultation with all relevant agencies and voluntary organisations. The review did not consider disclosing information on arrests, and there are no plans to allow members of the public to apply for information on arrests for child abuse.

Police: Career Structure

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had on the review of the police high potential development scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has responsibility for policy, selection and co-ordination for the police high potential development scheme (HPDS). The NPIA has finished a review of the existing HPDS alongside a wider process of developing the future strategy for police leadership. The revised HPDS is a priority within the NPIA Business Plan and will be re-launched in 2008.

Prisoner Escapes

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded of absconding from lawful custody in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Table 1 gives the number of offences of absconding from lawful custody and the number detected by means of a sanction detection. Table 2 shows the numbers of defendants proceeded against and found guilty at all courts for absconding from lawful custody for the years 1997 to 2006, and is taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Recorded crime and court proceedings statistics are from two different databases and recorded in quite different ways. Recorded crime data are provided on a financial year basis and count offences whereas court proceedings data are on a calendar year basis and count offenders. Therefore, these two separate data-sets are not directly comparable.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences of absconding from lawful custody recorded by the police and detected by means of a sanction detection1997 to 2006-07 
			   Number of offences  Number of sanction detections 
			 1997 1,379 n/a 
			 1997-98 1,372 n/a 
			 1998-99 1,301 n/a 
			 1999-2000 1,559 n/a 
			 2000-01 1,389 n/a 
			 2001-02 1,357 1,022 
			 2002-03 1,553 1,229 
			 2003-04 1,721 1,412 
			 2004-05 1,362 1,165 
			 2005-06 1,272 1,007 
			 2006-07 980 819 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for bigamy offence, England and Wales 1997-2006( 1,2,3) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 1997 22 16 
			 1998 30 18 
			 1999 40 28 
			 2000 17 12 
			 2001 23 17 
			 2002 31 16 
			 2003 29 20 
			 2004 22 22 
			 2005 28 21 
			 2006 23 11 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The found guilty column can often exceed the number proceeded against when a conviction takes place in a different month to when the proceeding was originally brought, or for a different offence.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals  (a) convicted of a sex offence  (b) imprisoned for more than 12 months for violence and  (c) assessed as being high risk there are on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register; and how many times the database has been accessed in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: As at 19 March 2008, ViSOR contained 58,722 persons categorised as being a Registered Sexual Offender (subject to notification requirements) or an Other Sexual Offender (not subject to notification requirements). This will include offenders who are in custody and those in the community, and those who are currently required to be supervised and those who are not. It also contained 3,906 persons categorised as being a Violent Offender and a total of 14,647 persons recorded as being managed as a High Risk or Very High Risk person.
	It should be noted that ViSOR is a live system used by the police, and is currently subject to a national roll-out to the National Offender Management Service. As such, it does not yet contain all violent offenders or other sexual offenders.
	Further statistical data on sexual and violent offenders in England and Wales are published in local multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) reports which have been issued annually for the past six years. These are available in the House Library and at:
	http://www.probation.justice.gov.uk/output/page30.asp
	ViSOR is a web-based operational management system that is in continuous use. It is not possible to provide a meaningful statistic relating to the number of times the database has been accessed.

Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences recorded under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 are included within the 'Possession of Weapons' offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Women's Aid Last Resort Fund

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been allocated to the Women's Aid Last Resort Fund since 2004 in relation to supporting women at risk of domestic abuse whose independent applications for leave to remain in the UK are being considered; and how much she plans to allocate to the Fund in each of the next three years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 31 March 2008
	During 2004-05 and 2005-06, the Government provided a grant of 145,000 to Women's Aid to bolster their Last Resort Fund, a fund aimed at meeting the living costs of a small number of victims in refuges who are not covered by the Supporting People funding arrangements.
	There are currently no plans to support the Last Resort Fund directly in the future. The Government do, however, recognise the particular needs faced by this small group of people and we will soon be announcing details of a new scheme where victims of domestic violence with no recourse to public funds will be eligible to receive support for their housing and living costs. Under the new scheme, victims of domestic violence whose applications for indefinite leave to remain are successful may qualify for a contribution towards these costs.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to questions  (a) 180331 and  (b) 180332, on Eurostar, tabled by the hon. Member for Woking on 21 January 2008.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 22 February 2008
	 I replied to the hon. Member on 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 804W and on 27 March 2008,  Official Report, column 439W.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Departmental Contracts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms since the Department was established; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. DIUS operates a devolved procurement structure for consultancy contracts. As such there is no central register of contracts let. Information on this type of expenditure is not held separately for DIUS for prior years, therefore this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, year to date, the Department has spent 2,734,621 on consultancy.

Departmental Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants,  (b) special advisers and  (c) Ministers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Information on this type of expenditure is not collected to the detail required in the Department. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Private Finance Initiative

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many private finance initiatives and public private partnerships his Department is responsible for; and what the value is of each such contract.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created by machinery of government changes at the end of June 2007. The Department does not have any private finance initiatives or public private partnership contracts.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether consideration has been given to applying gender responsive budgeting to his Department's budget.

David Lammy: The UK Government are supportive of efforts to achieve gender equality and continue to work very closely with both the Women's National Commission and the Women's Budget Group on promoting gender equality within the UK. In 2004, HM Treasury undertook a pilot project on gender analysis of expenditure with the Women's Budget Group. The project demonstrated the value of gender analysis in some areas and identified what tools and expertise were necessary within government to carry out gender analysis, but that further work was needed before gender responsive budgeting could be implemented. In 2008, HM Treasury will be conducting further work that will determine whether it is prudent and feasible to disaggregate departmental expenditure statistics by gender.
	The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) is committed to tackling discrimination and inequality including gender inequality. As the Department has only been in existence since June 2007, DIUS is using policies of the former parent entity DTI including the equality scheme which can be found on the BERR website.

Departmental Translation Services

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 854W, on departmental translation services, how much was spent on translation services into  (a) Welsh and  (b) other languages in 2007-08.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Information on translation expenditure to this level can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Higher Education

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of full-time undergraduates with each number of UCAS tariff points from their A-levels did not complete their degree in each of the last 10 years for which data are available.

Bill Rammell: The available information on the proportion of UK-domiciled starters to full-time first degree courses who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution is shown in table 1. Comparable figures for the 2005/06 academic year will become available in June this year. Information on the actual number of students who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution has not been published. These figures cannot be broken down by UCAS tariff points on entry.
	
		
			  Table 1: Proportion of full-time first degree starters at English and UK higher education institutions, who were projected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another institution, academic  year  1997/98 to 2004/05 
			  Percentage 
			  Academic year  1997/98  1998/99  1999/2000  2000/01  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 England 15.8 15.9 15.8 15.0 13.8 13.9 14.4 13.8 
			 UK 15.7 15.8 15.8 15.0 14.1 14.4 14.9 14.2 
			  Note: Figures from the 1996/97 academic year have been excluded due to a change in methodology between 1996/97 and 1997/98. Figures for years earlier than 1996/97 are not available.  Source: Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	HESA also publishes non-continuation indicators, which show the proportion of entrants to full-time first degree courses not continuing in higher education after their first year, and which can be broken down by entry qualification. Table 2 contains the available information for non-continuation indicators broken down by entry qualification.
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportion of UK-domiciled young( 1)  entrants to full-time first degree courses at UK higher education institutions not continuing in higher education after their first year,  academic year  2002/03 to 2004/05 
			  Entry qualification categories  Tariff points  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 A-levels or highers Unknown 11.3 12.6 13.9 
			  Up to 200 11.7 11.9 11.2 
			  201 to 290 7.9 8.1 7.7 
			  291 to 380 4.9 5.3 4.9 
			  Above 380 2.6 2.8 2.6 
			  
			 Other qualifications  11.4 11.6 11.2 
			  
			 All qualifications  7.8 7.7 7.2 
			 (1) Young refers to entrants who are under 21 years of age.  Note: Figures for years earlier than 2002/03 are not available.  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). 
		
	
	Student retention rates in this country compare very well internationally. The UK ranks fifth in the OECD for first degree completion rates, out of 23 countries who report data in this area. A university education is now open to more students than ever before and the higher education sector has made significant achievements in maintaining, and in some areas slightly improving, retention rates for its students.

Higher Education

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of full-time undergraduates from each socio-economic group did not complete their degree in each of the last 10 years for which data are available.

Bill Rammell: The available information on the proportion of UK-domiciled starters to full-time first degree courses who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution is shown in Table 1. Comparable figures for the 2005-06 academic year will become available in June this year. Information on the actual number of students who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution has not been published.
	
		
			  Table 1: Proportion of full-time first degree starters at English and UK higher education institutions, who were projected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another institution 
			  Percentage 
			   England  UK 
			 1997-98 15.8 15.7 
			 1998-99 15.9 15.8 
			 1999-2000 15.8 15.8 
			 2000-2001 15.0 15.0 
			 2001-02 13.8 14.1 
			 2002-03 13.9 14.4 
			 2003-04 14.4 14.9 
			 2004-05 13.8 14.2 
			  Notes:  Figures from the 1996-97 academic year have been excluded due to a change in methodology between 1996-7 and 1997-98. Figures for years earlier than 1996-97 are not available.   Source:  Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	HESA also publishes non-continuation indicators, which show the proportion of entrants to full-time first degree courses not continuing in higher education after their first year. It is possible to break these down by NS-SEC. Table 2 contains the available information for non-continuation indicators broken down by socio-economic group. Information on the actual numbers from each socio-economic group has not been published.
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportion of UK-domiciled young( 1)  entrants to full-time first degree courses at UK higher education institutions not continuing in higher education after their first year 
			  NS-SEC Classification  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Groups 1-3 6.3 6.0 5.6 
			 Groups 4-7 8.1 8.2 7.6 
			 Unknown 10.6 12.5 11.8 
			 All classifications 7.8 7.7 7.2 
			 (1) Young refers to entrants who are under 21 years of age.   Note:  Figures for years earlier than the 2002-03 academic year are not available: this is the earliest academic year for which socio-economic classification information is available for higher education students.   Source:  Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). 
		
	
	Student retention rates in this country compare very well internationally. The UK rank fifth in the OECD for first degree completion rates, out of 23 countries who report data in this area. A university education is now open to more students than ever before and the Government are totally committed to providing opportunities for all people to achieve their potential and to maximise their talent.

Higher Education: Admissions

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England were attending universities in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.
	
		
			  Enrolments( 1)  at UK higher education institutions from Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside local authority, north east Government office region( 2)  and England: academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 
			  Academic year  Jarrow  South Tyneside  North east  England 
			 1997/98 1,765 3,055 (2)67,795 1,272,780 
			 1998/99 1,805 3,125 (2)70,715 1,308,300 
			 1999/2000 1,790 3,090 60,890 1,309,505 
			 2000/01 1,715 2,930 62,940 1,339,120 
			 2001/02 1,775 3,000 64,705 1,377,475 
			 2002/03 1,875 3,250 68,120 1,435,655 
			 2003/04 1,985 3,420 69,980 1,492,580 
			 2004/05 2,160 3,765 70,590 1,524,120 
			 2005/06 2,095 3,625 71,240 1,533,770 
			 2006/07 2,040 3,595 72,465 1,494,595 
			 (1) Covers all students on any year of a course. Includes students on both full-time or part-time courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level including the Open university. (2 )Figures for the 1997/98 and 1998/99 academic years relate to the North of England, rather than the north east due to a change in the classification of government office regions. Therefore, figures for this region from these two years cannot be directly compared to other years in the time series.  Note:  Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	Overall, for all students from England, the UCAS figures show that, compared to 2006, applicants to full-time undergraduate courses who had been accepted for entry in 2007, rose by 6.1 per cent. to 307,000, the highest ever. Latest figures for students applying for entry in 2008, show that applicants from England are up by 7.1 per cent. compared to 2007.

Higher Education: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment has been made of the likely effect on  (a) female,  (b) mature and  (c) disabled students of the Government's proposed reduction in spending on equal and lower qualification students; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Our policy is a progressive redistribution of 100 million in institutional funding by 2010 away from students who already have a first HE qualification and want to study another one at an equivalent or lower level towards first time entrants which will enable millions more people of working age without a first HE qualification to participate in higher education and enjoy all the benefits it brings. Within that group, about half are female, a quarter are over 50 and a quarter have a disability and these students will all have more opportunities as a result of the ELQ policy. The majority are likely to be mature learners from non-traditional backgrounds who want to study part-time.

Ipsos MORI

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. DIUS operates a devolved procurement structure for consultancy contracts. As such there is no central register of contracts let. Information on this type of expenditure is not held separately for DIUS for prior years, therefore this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, year to date, the Department has spent 2,734,621 on consultancy.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects to answer question 191211 on prisoners and qualifications, tabled on 27 February 2008.

Bill Rammell: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given on 31 March,  Official Report, columns 595-598W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Chad: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of  (a) the humanitarian effects of the civil war in Chad since December 2005 and  (b) the availability of humanitarian aid; when this assessment was last reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) remains very concerned about the humanitarian effects of the ongoing conflict in Chad. Since the end of 2005, the tensions between Sudan and Chad have increased levels of insecurity. The UN estimates that there are up to 180,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of the conflict, and there are a further 700,000 people thought to have been adversely affected in host communities.
	DFID continues to monitor developments closely, and is continuously reviewing the level of humanitarian aid available through contact with the Red Cross and with UN and NGO agencies, and through discussions with other donors.
	In overall terms, the 2007 humanitarian effort in Chad was well supported. The 2007 UN appeal for Chad (for $274 million) was 99.5 per cent. funded, making it the best supported UN appeal of 2007. The 2007 ICRC appeal was more than 100 per cent. funded. The 2008 UN appeal (for $290 million) is currently 16.1 per cent. funded, which represents good coverage this early in the year.

Departmental Contracts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's (DFID) website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/procurement/contractslet.asp
	provides the requested information on all consultancy contracts awarded for the 12-month period January to December 2007. Low value contracts issued by DFID's overseas offices are not included. To produce a separate list of these would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Gillian Merron: The statistics for Department for International Development attendance at these National School of Government (NSG) courses for 2007-08 is as follows:
	
		
			  Course title  Number of DFID participants  Cost () 
			 Influencing with Integrity 9 6,543 
			 Emotional Intelligence 1 1,495 
			 Counselling Skills for the Workplace 0 0 
			 Managing your Confidence 1 1,149 
			 Balancing Work/life Realities 0 0 
			 Working Assertively 1 726 
		
	
	Responsibility for booking and financing training courses is at departmental level. NSG is one of a range of possible providers for these types of learning activities.

Developing Countries: Food

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of whether  (a) the Food Security Programme and  (b) the Productive Safety Net Programme set up by the Government of Ethiopia are viable models to be encouraged in countries facing similar food security issues; what assistance his Department has (i) offered and (ii) delivered (A) directly, (B) through the European Union and (C) through other international institutions to each programme; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Ethiopian Food Security Programme consists of three components: the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), the Other Food Security Programme and a programme of resettlement.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) has supported the PSNP since 2005. Since then, DFID has facilitated assessments of both the Food Security Programme and the PSNP. DFID has also supported the dissemination of lessons learned from PSNP to Southern African countries.
	Since 2005, DFID has disbursed 92 million in support of the PSNP. These funds have been provided directly to the Government of Ethiopia.
	DFID does not support the other components of the Food Security Programme.

Food Aid

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes have been  (a) planned,  (b) initiated,  (c) run,  (d) directly funded and  (e) part-funded by his Department using nutrient dense ready-to-use foods since the beginning of 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Complete costing information on what programmes have been planned and funded using ready-to-use foods (RUTF) is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Department for International Development frequently channels funds for RUTF through budget support at the country level or as contributions to the core budgets or pooled funds of UN organisations working on humanitarian issues.
	DFID is providing 1.5 million (2006 to 2010) to the NGOs Concern Worldwide and Valid International to widen the use of RUTFs in community care programmes in Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.

HIV Infection: Overseas Aid

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial contribution the UK is making to the 2007 G8 commitments on  (a) prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV services and  (b) paediatric HIV treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths) on 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1183-84W.

Latin America

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's staff were based in Latin America at the latest date for which figures are available; where in Latin America each such member of staff was based; how many staff he plans to be based in Latin America in each of the next three years; and where each will be located.

Shahid Malik: Currently 29 members of the Department for International Development (DFID) staff are based in Latin America. 12 are based in Managua, nine in Brasilia and eight in La Paz.
	The offices in La Paz and Managua will close in September 2008 and April 2009 respectively. The Brazil office will continue to operate but with eight staff in 2008-09.

Latin America

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's UK-based staff have been dedicated to working on matters relating to Latin America in each of the last five years; and how many will be dedicated in each of the next three years.

Shahid Malik: The numbers of Department for International Development staff based in the UK and working on Latin America over the last five years are shown in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of Latin America posts based in UK 
			 2007-08 8 
			 2006-07 10.5 
			 2005-06 14.5 
			 2004-05 16.5 
			 2003-04 16.5 
		
	
	The staffing structure for the UK/Latin America Team for the next three years is still under discussion.

Latin America: Overseas Aid

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to publish the future Regional Assistance Plan for Latin America.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development's (DFID) future support to Latin America will be provided through civil society organisations and international institutions. We will also continue to work on Brazil's global role in development. A summary of our programme will be produced and made publicly available (although this will not be in the form of a Regional Assistance Plan). This document will be available by the end of 2008.

Moldova: Food

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the food security situation in Moldova; what assistance his Department has  (a) offered and  (b) provided to (i) the Government and (ii) the population of Moldova to alleviate the impact of another possible drought; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: During 2007 Moldova was affected by a serious drought that reduced crop production across an estimated 84 per cent. of arable land. The Government of Moldova requested assistance from the United Kingdom and other donors. The Department for International Development (DFID) contacted the European Commission (EC) who confirmed that they were responding by providing 4 million of Food Security Programme budget support and releasing 20 million of macro-economic support funds to enable the Government of Moldova to respond to the impact of the drought. The EC also provided 3 million in direct humanitarian aid. Other donors also provided assistance.
	The UK Government are continuing to support the Moldovan Government with longer-term reforms aimed at strengthening the economy of the country and its resilience to future shocks through its small bilateral programme (4 million pa). This includes a 3 million contribution to the World Bank Poverty Reduction Support Credit, one aim of which is to strengthen the agriculture sector and consequently food security. The EC is also discussing with the Government of Moldova support to agriculture sector reform in its 2008 programme.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of the situation in Gaza on the flow of UK aid to the Palestinians; whether his Department plans to resume direct funding to the Palestinian Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) funds public services and humanitarian support in both the West Bank and Gaza. UK contributions to the European Commission's PEGASE mechanism help to provide allowances to 77,000 key workers such as doctors and nurses as well as engineers working to keep Gaza's power supply operational. In addition DFID provided 3 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to help pay its private sector debts, directly benefiting firms in Gaza as well as in the West Bank. Financial support of this kind is one way of getting aid directly to the people of Gaza.
	DFID's humanitarian support to Gaza is channelled through major humanitarian agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that are still able to operate in Gaza. I recently announced a further 2 million through the ICRC.
	Concerning support to the Palestinian Authority for both Gaza and the West Bank I refer to the statement I made to the House today in which I announced a 20 million contribution to the Palestinian Authority through a new multi-donor mechanism managed by the World Bank.

Somalia: Internally Displaced Persons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the humanitarian conditions of  (a) internally displaced people in and  (b) refugees from Somalia since the beginning of 2007; what estimate he has made of the number of such people; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The latest estimates from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for the number of Somali refugees resident in countries neighbouring Somalia are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Djibouti 8,642 
			 Yemen 50,000 
			 Eritrea 4600 
			 Ethiopia 19,572 
			 Kenya 182,000 
		
	
	In February 2008 UNHCR estimated that the numbers of internally displaced people in Somalia were 776,600. This does not include those who have been recently displaced by drought, floods and clan conflict as these are believed to be temporary. This leads the UN to estimate total numbers of displaced at approximately 1 million.
	The humanitarian situation remains critical. In Somalia the relief effort is constrained by conflict and insecurity-related obstruction of supplies. Nevertheless, UN and NGO relief agencies are providing shelter, food, emergency health services and clean water, which help to address the most urgent needs, and reduce suffering.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the humanitarian impact of the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The activities of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have had a devastating impact on civilians in northern Uganda and parts of southern Sudan. At the height of fighting between the LRA and the Ugandan army in 2003 over 2 million people were displaced from their homes. An estimated 25,000 children and young people were abducted by the LRA between 1990 and 2006. Although many have returned, approximately 4,000 remain unaccounted for.
	Since the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in August 2006 the security and humanitarian situation in the conflict affected areas has improved dramatically. The United Nations estimates that since 2006 over 400,000 people have been able to return home and a further 526,000 have moved to sites nearer to their homes where they are able to access their land. Even for those that currently remain in camps the situation has improved markedly with most people now able to access land for farming. Health and other social services have also improved with better access for trained personnel and supplies.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the Government will contribute to the annual budget of the World Food Programme's Humanitarian Air Service in Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The UK Government do not contribute directly to the annual budget of the World Food Program's Humanitarian Air Service in Darfur.
	The UK Government channel all their humanitarian funding to UN agencies in Sudan through the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF). The UK Government have committed 40 million to the CHF and 40 million to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2008. The Humanitarian Air Service is currently applying for money from the CHF and the CERF.

Zimbabwe: HIV Infection

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the availability over the last 12 months of antiretroviral treatment in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Of the 300,000 people who require it approximately 100,000 people have access to antiretroviral therapy (ARVs) in Zimbabwe (an increase of 50 per cent. in the last 18 months).
	The Government of Zimbabwe's capacity to procure needed drugs has weakened over the last 12 months. However, several bilateral donors, including the UK Government, the EC, the United States and the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria have increased their support for the procurement of antiretroviral medicines. Deliveries are now regular and predictable.

TRANSPORT

A14: Lorries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorry movements there were on average per day on the A14 in 2007; and what percentage of overall vehicle movements along the road this figure represents.

Jim Fitzpatrick: 2007 road traffic estimates are not yet available. These will become available in July 2008, as part of the publication 'Road Statistics 2007: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion'.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of recent changes to aircraft design which result in cabin air no longer being taken from engines; if she will re-examine the findings of the relevant study from the Committee on Toxicity; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 31 March 2008
	We are aware that new aircraft designs, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, are using a different cabin air system. But older aircraft will be in use globally for many years to come. Hence the Department, following the advice and recommendation of the Committee on Toxicity, is developing cabin air sampling research with a number of participating airlines to assemble real-time data on substances which may be in cabin air during fume events.

Aviation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many internal flights there were in each of the last five years; and how many there are forecast to be in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of internal flights (air transport movements, excluding double counting) in the UK in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Flights (000) 
			 2003 376 
			 2004 405 
			 2005 429 
			 2006 427 
			 2007 417 
			  Source: Civil Aviation Authority 
		
	
	The coverage of air transport movements (ATMs) in the DfT aviation forecasting model, along with the methodology and results, is set out in 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' (2007), available at:
	http://www.dft.gov/uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/
	This differs from the coverage of the figures reported above. The differences arise from the range of airports and domestic charter operations covered, and the categorisation of oil rig and Channel Isles traffic. The difference amounts to around an extra 45,000 ATMs per annum in 2005.
	Owing to the tolerance with which the iterative forecasting model works, forecast results are rounded and presented at no less than five-yearly intervals. The central forecast is for annual domestic air transport movements to grow from 765,000 in 2005 to 840,000 in 2010. This equates to growth in annual domestic flights from 385,000 in 2005 to 420,000 in 2010.

Aviation: Health Hazards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will investigate the potential impact on health arising from the seeping of emissions from engine lubricants on to the flight decks of aircraft.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government do not want anyone's health to be at risk when travelling by air, and are leading research in this area. In 2007 we commissioned a world first research project to try to capture substances released during transient fume events. The first stage of this work was to identify and test equipment capable of sampling any potentially harmful substances in cabin air. The report into this first stage work was published by Cranfield university on 21 February after peer review. It is published on the Department's website. The next phase of work is to use the equipment identified to capture real-time fume events; this work is being developed.

Aviation: Health Hazards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are in place to prevent the incapacitation of pilots and co-pilots arising from the seeping of emissions from engine lubricants on to the flight decks of aircraft.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) investigations into reported incidents have resulted in measures to minimise occurrences. For example, overfilling engines with oil can result in oily fumes. The CAA has worked with aircraft operators, and with engine and aircraft manufacturers, to ensure that revised oil filling instructions are made available. Mandatory procedures have been put in place to ensure aircraft systems are examined and, where necessary, rectified and cleaned before further flight. To minimise the effects on pilots, the CAA has published advice to operators that, in the event of a suspected air contamination in the flight deck, pilots should consider the use of oxygen equipment.

Aviation: Health Hazards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) regulations and  (b) international agreements govern the spraying of biocides in the passenger deck of international aircraft; and what substances are permitted to be so sprayed.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The use of insecticide is required under the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on flights to or from certain destinations to prevent infectious and contagious diseases.
	Rules established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) permit the use of certain insecticides, which have the approval of and are recommended by the WHO, based on their efficacy and minimal human toxicity. These rules are binding on International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) contracting states.
	All pesticides used for aircraft disinsection in Great Britain (GB) must be approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986. The active ingredient in sprays in GB is either 2 per cent. permelhrin or 2 per cent. d-phenothrin.

Biofuels

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the merits of second generation biofuels.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Advanced biofuel production processes have the potential to deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. These processes also have very significant advantages in potentially using a much wider range of materials than those used for current biofuels, including materials which do not compete with food products, thus reducing the environmental pressures from using land for biofuel crop production. The Government's aim is to create the right market incentives, through policies such as the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), backed up by technology support, for such fuels to flourish.
	The Government have funded a number of pieces of recent research by the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) on the feasibility of advanced biofuel production processes. These include work on the feasibility of second generation biodiesel production in the UK, available via the NNFCC's website at:
	http://www.nnfcc.com
	as well as an evaluation of emerging biodiesel technologies and a mapping of the development of advanced biorefinery concepts which could become reality beyond 2020.

Bus Lanes: Motorcycles

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will undertake research into the use of powered two-wheeled vehicles in bus lanes; what research she has evaluated on the matter; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has commissioned three research projects to investigate the effects of allowing powered two-wheeled vehicles to use bus lanes. The research, in Bristol, Swindon and the City of Westminster, considered the impact of schemes on both motorcyclists and other road users.
	The case for allowing powered two-wheeled vehicles in bus lanes is very much a site-specific matter. The research has helped identify potential benefits and disbenefits that local authorities need to consider in determining whether or not to permit motorcycles to use their bus lanes. The results of this research provide the basis for the Department's current advice in Traffic Advisory Leaflet 2/07 The use of bus lanes by motorcycles.

Bus Services: Concessions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many local authorities in England offered subsidised bus services after 11 pm in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information is hot held at the level of detail requested. Local authorities have discretion to offer concessionary travel beyond the statutory times defined in the Transport Act 2000. The statutory minimum concession is available to eligible residents on local buses from 9.30 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday and at all times at weekends and on bank holidays.

Bus Services: Schools

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effect on road safety of the use by local authorities of buses exempt from the requirement to have passenger seatbelts fitted to transport children to school.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has not made a specific assessment of the implications of carrying children in buses that are not equipped with safety belts. However, a review of the benefit of safety belts in minibuses and coaches recognised technical difficulties associated with fitting adequate seat belts retrospectively to other types of bus.
	'Road Casualties Great Britain 2006' shows buses to be one of the safest forms of road transport with the rate of killed or seriously injured passengers, on a mile for mile basis, being approximately one-third that for passenger cars.
	Local authorities are able to specify that transport providers supply buses with safety belts and should consider if this is appropriate as part of their risk assessment.

Car Sharing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings and discussions took place between  (a) her Department and  (b) the Highways Agency and (i) car share organisations, (ii) bus companies and (iii) other groups with experience of high occupancy vehicle lanes prior to the decision not to proceed with the proposed high occupancy vehicle lane on the M1 between junctions 7 and 10.

Tom Harris: Various official-level meetings and discussions with stakeholders have taken place over the course of the M1 HOV lane scheme's development, including with the Campaign for Better Transport, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), National Express, Carplus and Liftshare. Officials have also met with highway authorities in other countries who have experience of high occupancy vehicle lanes. Ministers met with the CPT and National Express in autumn 2007.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport was established in 2002, Since then it has responded to 21 cases brought to the Civil Service Appeal Board.
	12 cases were on grounds of gross misconduct, two for breach of ICT policy, two for bringing the agency/department into disrepute, four for other individual reasons and one for which the information is not currently available.
	Six appeals were upheld (29 per cent.), five on the grounds of unfair dismissal and one for a minor procedural error by the Department. The total compensation paid was 128,837.55. Only one individual was reinstated (in 2005) following an upheld appeal, as the Board concluded that there was insufficient evidence that the appellant was deliberately bringing the agency/Department into disrepute.

Cycling

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with Welsh Assembly Ministers and Ministers of other devolved administrations to ensure that appropriate funding is made available throughout the UK to encourage the promotion of the shift from cars to cycling.

Rosie Winterton: DfT Ministers have had no such meetings but they are in regular contact with Ministers in the devolved Administrations about a range of issues.
	Decisions on local transport issues are a devolved matter.

Departmental Contracts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts were awarded by her Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A table showing the value and the nature of work undertaken by KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young and Deloitte between 1 March 2007 and 29 February 2008 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	McKinsey has not carried out any work for the Department and its agencies in this 12 month period.
	Details of contracts carried out by other consultancy firms in the last 12 months could be provided in response to this question only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Databases

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 772-3W, on departmental databases, which US-registered service providers have been engaged by her Department and its agencies to manage aspects of personal data; and what types of personal information such service providers have been engaged to manage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following US registered service providers have been engaged by the Department for Transport to manage aspects of personal datathis list only incorporates contracts under which services are still being provided;
	 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
	International Business Machines Corporation is a registered US company with subsidiaries all over the world. The DVLA's contract is presently with the UK subsidiary, IBM United Kingdom.
	DVLA's prime IT service provider is IBM.
	As the prime IT service provider, IBM has been engaged to manage all aspects of DVLA IT, including responsibility for DVLA's core driver and vehicle databases which contain UK citizens' personal information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, disclosed medical conditions (in relation to the driver's ability to drive) and driving licence photographs. All this information is maintained within the UK.
	IBM is also supporting the programme to migrate the Department to a shared service centre initially covering the Department's financial and Human Resources back-office functions. This includes personal data for the Department's civil servants and the Department's financial data.
	 Driving Standards Agency (DSA)
	The DSA contracts Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd to provide theory test services. Some of these services involve data processing, which is carried out in the US by NCS Pearson, Inc., a US registered company in the same corporate group as Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd. These companies manage data on candidates' personal information (name, address, date of birth, gender), payment information, driver licence number, details of the test taken and the result.
	 Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)
	The MCA has a contract with GroupLink, a US registered company which provides a customer relationship management (CRM) system for part of the MCA. Grouplink managed the migration of the CRM data in 2007 to the new system and currently only provides support for this system without having access to the data which include contact details of MCA customers.
	As part of the Communities and Local Government Framework Agreement, which the Department and its agencies call off, some parts of the Department use Iron Mountain, a US registered company, for file storage, retrieval and destruction of registered files. Among these files are standard departmental personnel records, which include:
	reports, personal, leave and attendance, medical, conduct and discipline, pay, travel and subsistence, long term detached duty, permanent transfer and secondment files.

Departmental Translation Services

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2008,  Official Report, column 442W, on departmental translation services, how much was spent by her Department and its agencies on translation services into  (a) Welsh and  (b) other languages in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08 to date.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Highways Agency, and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, do not hold the data in an appropriate format to provide the breakdown requested. The required analysis to obtain the information would incur disproportionate cost, requiring recourse to all the original invoices for the years concerned.
	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency translated one document into Welsh in 2005, Stay SAFE at the seaside, at a cost of 329.
	The Vehicle Certification Agency translates the Fuel Consumption booklet into Welsh at an annual cost of approximately 1,000.
	As recorded in the answer of 12 March 2008,  Official Report, column 442W, data are not available for the Driving Standards Agency for 2003-04 and 2004-05. The expenditure shown for 2005-08 (to end January 2008) is for translating forms and the Highway Code into Welsh.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by her Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport and its agencies use video conferencing (and also teleconferencing) extensively, and already encourage all staff to use the facilities as a first option in preference to travelling, and to save time and travelling expenses. However, it is considered more appropriate and feasible to judge each case on its merits, rather than set specific targets, due to the variable individual circumstances surrounding each meeting.

Driving Tests

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to her Statement of 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 624, on Department for Transport data storage and use, if she will place in the Library a copy of the terms of the contract between the Driving Standards Agency and Pearson Driving Assessments which relate to compliance with UK data protection rules.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A copy of the terms of the contract between the Driving Standards Agency and Pearson Driving Assessments Limited which relate to compliance with UK data protection rules has been placed in the Library.

Environment Directorate

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the objectives of her Department's Environment Directorate are; what the directorate's performance against those objectives has been in the last six months; and what projects the directorate has undertaken over that period.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport's (DFT) Environment and International (ENI) Directorate was set up in April 2007.
	The Directorate's objectives, as set out in the DFT's business plan for 2007-08, include:
	working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and internationally to deliver the joint PSA target for climate change and take forward the Department's strategy for tackling the environmental impact of transport in line with the Stern Review. Sub-objectives include:
	improving strategy, planning and the evidence base for climate change policy in DFT
	tackling the climate change impacts of transport through putting a price on carbon (tax, trading or regulation);
	removing barriers to behaviour change and promoting more environmentally-friendly transport;
	promoting technological development and innovation to reduce carbon emissions from transport
	working with DEFRA and other stakeholders to deliver the joint Public Service Agreement target for air quality;
	influencing international transport negotiations to achieve UK objectives for market liberalisation, improved environmental protection, consumer rights and better regulation. Sub-objectives include ensuring timely and proper implementation of all new EU obligations.
	ensuring that the DFT adopts Better Regulation principles and reduces the administrative burdens imposed by transport regulations.
	DFT's full business plan is available at
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/priorities
	Environment-related projects undertaken by ENI in the past six months have included:
	programme management of overall DFT carbon reduction activity (liaising with other parts of DFT including aviation and shipping sections, as well as relevant executive agencies);
	contributing to cross-Government development of the Climate Change Bill and analysis of climate change strategy;
	developing policy within the EU on mandatory targets for new car CO2 emissions;
	developing policy on the use of renewables in transport, in particular in respect of the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive, and implementing the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation;
	supporting the work of H M Treasury in Budget 2008 on cleaner cars and incentives for people to buy them;
	progressing the Low Carbon Transport Innovation Strategy, supporting research and development and procurement of low carbon vehicles;
	policy development and stakeholder engagement relating to the climate change goal set out in the Towards a Sustainable Transport System discussion paper;
	contributing to policy development in Europe on air quality, notably through negotiations on EURO VI standards for heavy duty vehicles.
	In the past six months, as part of its responsibilities for cross-cutting international matters and for DFT's better regulation work, ENI's work has also included updating the DFT simplification plan, the preparations for European Transport Councils, and wider EU coordination work.

Fuels: Renewable Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the complementarity of the  (a) targets and  (b) sustainability criteria in the EU Fuel Quality Directive and the EU Renewable Energy Directive.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The European Commission has proposed a greenhouse gas reduction target for the Fuel Quality Directive which would, in our assessment, need to be met mainly through biofuels, in quantities much greater than would be required by the draft Renewable Energy Directive. In negotiations in the EU, the UK and other member states have made clear that this discrepancy needs to be resolved. The Commission's proposal for the Fuel Quality Directive does not include sustainability criteria for biofuels, though some have been proposed in the European Parliament. There are different sustainability criteria in the Renewable Energy Directive: again, we and other member states have stressed that it will be essential to have just one set, applying to both directives. In the high-level discussions on this issue the UK will be pressing for these criteria to be as robust and wide-ranging as possible.

Government Car and Dispatch Agency: Expenditure

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government Car and Dispatch Agency has spent on replacing cars  (a) in 2007-08 and  (b) since 27 June 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) has spent 393,956 (excluding VAT) on cars for its fleet so far in 2007-08. Of that, 381,398 has been spent since 27 June 2007. The timing of this expenditure is part of GCDA's three year rolling programme of capital expenditure that was agreed with the Department for Transport during 2006-07. GCDA replaces approximately one third of its car fleet each year.

Heathrow Airport

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many visits she has made to Heathrow Airport to meet representatives of  (a) businesses and the aviation industry and  (b) local residents associations affected by Heathrow expansion in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008 to date.

Jim Fitzpatrick: h olding answer 27 February 2008
	 The Secretary of State, Ministers and Department for Transport officials have met a number of stakeholders in a variety of locations to discuss the Heathrow Consultation. The Department engaged with the local community at a series of dedicated roadshows.

Heathrow Airport

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings she has held with  (a) BAA,  (b) HACAN ClearSkies,  (c) 2M group and  (d) Future Heathrow Group on Heathrow expansion since her appointment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Since July the Secretary of State has held regular meetings at a senior level with BAA. These have covered a range of issues pertinent to BAA airports including Heathrow. Although the Secretary of State has not met HACAN ClearSkies or the 2M group, I have held meetings with these groups since July either individually or as part of meetings with a wider stakeholder attendance. Both myself and the Secretary of State have met with Future Heathrow Group on one occasion since July.

Heathrow Airport

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effects of each option for Heathrow expansion as set out in the adding capacity at Heathrow consultation on local public health, with particular reference to  (a) air quality,  (b) nitrogen oxide emissions and  (c) noise pollution; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Our work has been focused primarily on demonstrating compliance with limits on local air quality pollutants and noise. The former relate to European obligations under Directives whose key objectives are protecting human health. The public health impacts of aviation are considered in the development of our policies. We monitor the continuing research on the effects of noise on human health. In addition we take account of existing guidelines and long-term targets recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Heathrow Airport

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which Minister in her Department approved the consultation document on the third runway at Heathrow.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 19 March 2008
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State approved the consultation document which was then subject to the collective Cabinet clearance process.

Heathrow Airport

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people from each London borough submitted representations to the Heathrow third runway consultation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport' consultation ended on 27 February. We are not yet in a position to provide data on the numbers of responses received or provide any breakdowns.

Heathrow Airport: Health Hazards

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to make a health impact assessment of the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: While our principal focus has been on meeting the key noise and local air quality limits, we plan to update the initial impact assessment incorporated in our recent Heathrow consultation in the light of responses and relevant evidence received. We have made it clear that any proposals for future development would need to be the subject of a full health impact assessment by the airport operator at the planning stage.

Lorries: Safety

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorries in each region of England were detected by  (a) the police and  (b) the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, as being (i) overloaded, (ii) in an unsatisfactory mechanical condition and (iii) driven in breach of drivers' hours regulations, in each of the last 10 years; and what penalties were imposed on those drivers found to be in breach of the law.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was formed in April 2003, since then the relevant statistics relating to VOSA are:
	
		
			   Prohibited for overloading  Prosecuted for overloading  Mechanical prohibitions  Prohibited for drivers' hours tachograph and records  Prosecuted for drivers' hours tachograph and records 
			  2006-07  
			 North Eastern 609 135 2,660 857 1,527 
			 North Western 887 106 2,548 1,735 952 
			 West Midlands 771 197 1,591 995 564 
			 Eastern 810 111 1,991 1,889 472 
			 South Eastern 1,303 112 6,027 2,757 580 
			 Western 702 128 2,805 874 510 
			 Total 5,082 789 17,622 9,107 4,605 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 North Eastern 605 121 3,037 1,152 1,187 
			 North Western 925 118 2,589 1,449 1,217 
			 West Midlands 699 105 1,680 1,085 823 
			 Eastern 717 118 1,622 1,550 688 
			 South Eastern 773 128 3,763 2,456 691 
			 Western 513 136 2,543 1,042 724 
			 Total 4,232 726 15,234 8,734 5,330 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 North Eastern 522 125 2,848 1,124 1,252 
			 North Western 780 156 2,472 1,216 1,417 
			 West Midlands 420 101 1,571 937 558 
			 Eastern 498 153 1,467 1,017 710 
			 South Eastern 693 157 3,378 1,946 515 
			 Western 444 144 2,325 727 627 
			 Total 3,357 836 14,061 6,967 5,079 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 North Eastern 512 312 2,625 952 1,307 
			 North Western 521 472 2,934 1,092 1,205 
			 West Midlands 326 294 1,535 579 575 
			 Eastern 507 439 1,561 626 1,409 
			 South Eastern 819 480 2,866 1,764 1,163 
			 Western 412 451 2,101 625 1,109 
			 Total 3,097 2,448 13,622 5,638 6,768 
		
	
	VOSA does not individually record the number of prosecutions due to mechanical faults but VOSA is sure this would be an insignificant figure.
	Data collected centrally on the Court Proceedings Database, held by the Ministry of Justice do not identify the vehicle type (e.g. lorry, buses or coaches etc) involved for the specified motoring offences.
	Similarly the Fixed Penalty Notices, Written Warnings and Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme motoring offences collections, also held by the Ministry of Justice do not identify types of vehicles involved.

Lorries: Safety Measures

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the average cost to a road haulier of fitting retro-reflective marking tape to a heavy goods vehicle; and what the total estimated cost of doing so is for all road hauliers;
	(2)  what consideration she has given to making the fitting of retro-reflective marking tape mandatory on all new heavy goods vehicles from 10 October 2009.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Following European and international negotiations, it was agreed to require fitment of retro-reflective marking tape for new trucks over 7.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW) and new trailers over 3.5 tonnes GVW. The cost over 12 years has been estimated at between 152.6 million and 164.2 million and potential benefits over the same period have been estimated at 297 million. The cost per vehicle has been estimated as ranging from around 186 to almost 388.
	The UK is working to implement the requirement via amendment to our national Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations by 10 October 2009. This is the earliest date that Contracting Parties to UN-ECE Regulation 48 can refuse to register new heavy trucks not fitted with reflective tape. A public consultation on proposed amendments will be carried out in due course.

Lorries: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many heavy goods vehicle test stations are operated by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency; and what their locations are.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency currently has 89 heavy goods vehicle test stations. A list of locations has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Lorries: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maximum distance is that a road haulier is expected to travel to present his vehicle for examination.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)'s criteria is to provide a testing facility sufficient to accommodate at least 90 per cent. of its customers with a travel distance of 30 miles, or 60 minutes, and that target is currently exceeded by a substantial margin.

Lorries: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there are plans to change the  (a) number and  (b) location of Vehicle and Operator Services Agency-operated heavy goods vehicle test stations.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is currently undertaking a strategic review of its operational estate and has not ruled out changes. VOSA has recently relocated the Bristol heavy goods vehicle testing station to a more strategic location in Avonmouth.

Lorries: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there are plans to alter the  (a) numbers and  (b) terms of employment of staff employed and based at Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's heavy goods vehicle test stations.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has  (a) no plans to reduce the number of staff employed in technical roles in its HGV test stations. However, there are plans to reduce the number of admin support staff. As part of the DFT Value For Money programme, VOSA has been investing in modern technology and call-handling processes to improve customer service and as a result, fewer admin staff are required. There are plans to reduce the admin work force by 19 FTEs.  (b) VOSA has no proposals to change the terms and conditions of staff based at its HGV test stations. However, work has been done to investigate the options for more flexible opening hours for its test stations which may require new contracts to be negotiated.

Lorries: Tolls

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent consideration has been given to the possibility of introducing a vignette to charge lorries for road use; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: As announced in Budget 2008, the Government will not be progressing a vignette scheme at this stage. This decision was informed by the freight data feasibility study which found that all options considered, including a vignette, offered limited safety, congestion and environmental benefits. The conclusions of the study will be published shortly.

M25: Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest ministerially-approved costs are of the  (a) M25 widening schemes and  (b) M1 widening schemes; and what the original estimated cost was of these schemes.

Tom Harris: The following table provides the information requested for the schemes on the M1 and M25 motorways, forming part of the Highways Agency's programme of major schemes, which were designated 'widening schemes' at programme entry. Following the Nichols report on the Highways Agency, revised cost estimates for a number of the schemes listed are currently in preparation. In addition, following publication on 4 March of the 'Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study' a number of these schemes will be considered for their suitability for active traffic management (ATM), including hard shoulder running, as an alternative to conventional widening. Where ATM is selected as the preferred option the scheme cost will be re-estimated.
	
		
			   million 
			  Scheme name  Programme entry estimate  Latest ministerial approved estimates 
			 M25 J12-15 widening(1) 94 120 
			 M25 J1b to J3 widening ECI 66 (2)62 
			 M25 J5 to J6/7 widening DBFO 214 214 
			 M25 J16 to J23 widening DBFO 496 697 
			 M25 J23 to J27 widening DBFO 419 419 
			 M25 J27 to J30 widening DBFO 402 583 
			 M25 total 1,691 2,098 
			
			 M1 J6A to J10 widening 241 289 
			 M1 J10 to J13 widening 382 601 
			 M1 J21 to J30 widening (ECI) Contract 1   
			 M1 J21 to J30 widening (ECI) Contract 2 1,915 1,915 
			 M1 J30 to J31 widening 135 135 
			 M1 J31 to J32 widening(1) 20 20 
			 M1 J32 to J34S 139 139 
			 M1 J34N to J37 246 246 
			 M1 J37 to J39 224 224 
			 M1 J39 to J42 widening 202 202 
			 M1 total 3,504 3,771 
			 (1) Scheme complete. (2) In addition, 12 million of work has been transferred to the A2/A282 scheme

M42: Motorway Service Areas

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on negotiations between the Highways Agency, Birmingham International airport and the management of the Blue Boar Inn on the proposed motorway service area at Junction 6 on the M42.

Tom Harris: The proposed motorway service area is on the mainline between Junction 5 and Junction 6 of the M42. This site was formerly being promoted by Blue Boar Motorways Ltd. and is now being promoted by Swayfields.
	The Highways Agency is not negotiating with Birmingham International airport and the management of Swayfields with regard to the proposed motorway service area. As part of the planning process, the Highways Agency has a duty to co-operate and act reasonably in considering proposals coming forward. Our conclusions on the acceptability of the proposals have been set out in our Proof of Evidence submitted to the ongoing Public Inquiry.
	The Highways Agency has worked with Birmingham International Airport Limited and the National Exhibition Centre on options for, improving motorway access from the M42 to their developments. A Joint Statement produced by the Highways Agency, Birmingham International Airport Limited and the National Exhibition Centre regarding options for improving motorway access from the M42 was read out and given to the Inspector at the Pre-Inquiry Meeting on 19 March 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport to reply to the letter sent to him by Campaign for Better Transport, Liftshare.com, Sustrans, Friends of the Earth and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England on 18 October on the proposed high occupancy vehicle lane on the M1 between junctions 7 and 10.

Tom Harris: A reply was sent on 17 March.

Metronet

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1088W, on Metronet, what the size of the loan from TfL to Metronet is.

Rosie Winterton: Funding of the administrators of the Metronet companies during their appointment is the responsibility of Transport for London and London Underground Limited.

Ministers: Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many former Ministers, other than the former Prime Minister, are supplied with a car from the Government Car and Despatch Agency; and how many former Ministers were in receipt of such cars on 1 January 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Currently the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) provides cars and drivers for 6 former Ministers and former Prime Ministers. On 1 January 2005 GCDA provided cars and drivers to 11 former Ministers and Prime Ministers.

Ministers: Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take steps to quantify the down-time of drivers employed to drive ministerial cars supplied by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency provides allocated cars and drivers to Departments for use by Ministers and senior officials. The day to day allocation of work for these drivers is the responsibility of each Department.

Ministers: Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in which Government Departments permanent secretaries have chosen not to make use of an allocated vehicle supplied by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency does not provide allocated cars and drivers to the permanent secretaries of the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Justice or the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Ministers: Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the merits of providing a pool of cars per Government Department rather than allocating cars to individual Ministers and permanent secretaries; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency is responsible for providing official cars and drivers to Ministers and senior officials. There has been no formal review or assessment of the merits of introducing departmental driver pools since GCDA became part of the Department for Transport.

Ministers: Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are used in determining the entitlement of former Ministers to vehicles supplied by the Government Car and Despatch Agency; and what the process is for deciding when such use should cease.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The use of an official car after a Minister's departure from office will be on the advice of the security authorities. In line with successive Administrations, the Government do not comment on security issues.

Ministers: Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in respect of how many former  (a) Ministers,  (b) permanent secretaries and  (c) other categories, other than serving Ministers and permanent secretaries, requests have been received for the provision of vehicles by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency provides official cars and drivers for Ministers and senior officials. GCDA does not accept requests to provide official cars and drivers directly from former Ministers or former officials. All requests for the provision of official cars and drivers are routed through the Cabinet Office. This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Motor Vehicles

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to publish her recommendations following the review of class  (a) two and  (b) three powered wheelchairs and powered scooters.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport published research into class two and three powered wheelchairs and mobility Scooters in 2006. The research included a series of recommendations to Government on areas such as fitness to drive and insurance requirements.
	The review's findings are helping to inform policy development in this area. However, we do not have any additional announcements planned at this point in time.

Motor Vehicles: Fines

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Vehicle and Operator Services Agency staff will be employed to issue fixed penalty notices to vehicles where offences are detected.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) employs 590 traffic and vehicle examiners, all of whom may be required to issue fixed penalty notices. There are plans to employ a further 127 enforcement staff in the coming year as a result of reinvesting Gershon VFM post savings and new funding from DFT for additional enforcement activity. All these additional staff will be trained to issue fixed penalty notices.

Motor Vehicles: Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department expects to complete its review of the Powering Future Vehicles Strategy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is currently considering the status of the Powering Future Vehicles Strategy review, in light of the recent publication of the final report from the King Review of low-carbon cars. As announced in Budget 2008, a detailed Government response to the King Review will be published in the summer.

Motor Vehicles: Ministers

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what type of car each Government Minister receives from the Government Car and Dispatch Agency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Cabinet Ministers may choose either a diesel powered Jaguar XJ or a Toyota Prius hybrid. Other Ministers may also choose from a Toyota Prius, a Honda Civic hybrid or any other suitable car with a CO2 emission of 185 g/km or less.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many garages in the UK are licensed by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to conduct private vehicle and motorcycle MOT tests; how often these garages are inspected by VOSA to ensure standards are being upheld; and how many inspectors VOSA employs to check on standards in these garages.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has 19,064 garages authorised to conduct MOT testing in Great Britain on private vehicles and motorcycles. In the financial year 2007-08, every active MOT garage received a VOSA site assessment in addition to any demand-led or targeted visits. This fully achieved a demanding Secretary of State key target last year. VOSA employs 330 vehicle examiners who spend around one third of their time on MOT garage supervision.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many non-UK registered vehicles were inspected by Vehicle and Operator Services Agency inspectors during the south-east pilot exercise in the 2007-08 financial year; and how many prohibition notes were issued.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) inspected and issued prohibitions to the following numbers of non-UK registered vehicles:
	
		
			   Inspections  Prohibitions 
			 Roadworthiness 17,320 8,762 
			 Traffic offences (inc. weighing) 19,677 5,428

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has for future charges for  (a) private vehicle and motorcycle MOT tests,  (b) heavy goods vehicle tests and  (c) public service vehicle tests.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A consultation on proposals to raise HGV and PSV test fees by approximately 5 per cent. for 2008-09 closed on 10 March. A further consultation on MOT fees is due to close on the 30 of April. The results of these consultations are being/will be analysed. The Secretary of State (SoS) will announce her decision on future fees, having duly considered the response to these consultations in due course.
	The SoS announced in 2006 her intention to abolish certain HGV and PSV operator licence fees and increase HGV and PSV test fees to recover the income lost. This rationalisation is planned to occur in April 2009 to coincide with the normal annual fee review cycle.
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) plans to review fee levels regularly, including consultation on proposed changes.

Motorcycles: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 55-6W, on motorcycles: licensing, what her current estimate is of the costs provided in that answer; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The total estimated cost for implementing the new practical motorcycling test being introduced in September 2008 is 71,000,000.
	Of this, 70,200,000 is for acquisition, design construction and development of multi-purpose test centres (MPTCs). The remainder of 800,000 has been allocated for equipment, training and site set-up cost.
	The second European driving licence directive as amended by Commission directive 56/2000 aims to improve the standard of road safety for all road users including motorcycle and moped riders. Test candidates must be able to demonstrate that they are competent to ride their machines at a more demanding level than is currently the case. The new practical motorcycle test must be introduced no later than 30 September 2008. The higher speed exercises and other manoeuvres will be performed in the off-road element of the test conducted at MPTC sites.
	In the interests of the safety of all road users, not least the motorcycling test candidate, assessing the new manoeuvres will be conducted off-road at MPTCs.
	MPTCs will also cater for other types of practical tests, including for car drivers.

Motorways

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what purposes the hard shoulders of the motorway infrastructure are used.

Tom Harris: The Motorways; Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 define a hard shoulder and its uses. Regulation 7 provides that a vehicle may stop and remain at rest on a hard shoulder where it is necessary:
	By reason of a breakdown or lack of fuel, oil or water or
	By reason of any accident, illness or other emergency or
	To permit any person carried in the vehicle to recover or move any object that has fallen onto a motorway or
	To permit any person carried in the vehicle to give help to another person in association with the above situations.
	The M42 (Junctions 3A to 7) Actively Managed Hard Shoulder and Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 2005, modified the 1982 regulations in respect of M42 Junctions 3A to 7 and the adjoining slip roads to introduce variable speed limits and create the concept of an 'actively managed hard shoulder', which may, in certain circumstances, be driven on.
	Information for drivers on the use of the hard shoulder is given in the Highway Code, sections 269 to 271.

Motorways: Accidents

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths there have been as a result of crashes involving vehicles parked on motorway hard shoulders in the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Tom Harris: Between 1997 and 2006 there were 85 fatalities resulting from road traffic accidents on M and A(M) class roads on the Highways Agency's trunk road network, where at least one vehicle was stopped on the hard shoulder.
	The 85 fatalities (in accidents where at least one vehicle was parked on the hard shoulder) accounted for 4.9 per cent. of all fatalities on M and A(M) class roads on the Highways Agency's trunk road network (1,739 in total), recorded over the same period.

Motorways: Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the annual change in carbon dioxide emissions expected to result from the planned motorway widening programme by 2015.

Tom Harris: holding answer 31 March 2008
	Following the recent publication of the advanced motorway signalling and traffic management feasibility study, hard shoulder running will now be considered for the schemes which were due to be widened, apart from the first two sections of the M25 widening scheme'.
	The feasibility study modelled the emissions impacts of a programme of planned widening schemes comprising all the motorway elements of the Highways Agency's current major schemes programme, plus widening of the M6 from the north of Birmingham to Knutsford, for the year 2015. This high level analysis showed an increase in CO2 of 0.3 megatonnes (an increase of 0.3 per cent.) for the widening package, compared to 0.2 megatonnes (0.2 per cent.) if all the widening schemes were to be replaced with hard shoulder running. This is compared to a reference case with no improvements to these parts of the motorway network. Year-on-year impacts were not modelled. Further details are included in the study report, available online at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/network/policy/mtorsigntrafmanagement/

Passenger Transport Executives: Marketing

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the costs of rebranding passenger transport authorities as integrated transport authorities as proposed in the Local Transport Bill; and when the Government will provide funding for this purpose.

Rosie Winterton: The Local Transport Bill provides for the statutory designation of each passenger transport authority to be changed to integrated transport authority. This reflects their proposed new responsibilities for leading the integration within the Local Transport Plan of the whole transport agenda including, for example highways and traffic issues. Most passenger transport in the former metropolitan areas is already provided under brand names such as Merseytravel or Nexus, and the legislation will not affect the ability of authorities to use such names. I expect the change in statutory designation not to impose any significant additional costs on authorities, and that any such costs will be more than offset by savings resulting from other measures.

Penalty Fares: Appeals

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which approved appeals bodies adjudicate on the penalty fares scheme.

Tom Harris: There are two approved appeal bodies handling National Rail penalty fare scheme appeals. These are the Independent Penalty Fares Appeals Service (IPFAS), and the Independent Appeals Service (IAS).

Public Transport

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of people who travel by public transport in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas.

Rosie Winterton: The following table shows the proportion of trips by people living in urban and rural areas which are by public transport.
	
		
			  Proportion of trips by main mode by residents of urban and rural areas, Great Britain, 2006 
			   Public transport 
			 Urban 11 
			 London 26 
			 Other urban 9 
			 Rural 4 
			 Total 10 
			  Source: DfT: National Travel Survey 2006

Public Transport: Tickets

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to encourage the deployment of train-bus Oystercard-type arrangements in major conurbations other than London.

Tom Harris: The smartcard and integrated ticketing programmes are being rolled out progressively. Plus Bus (add-on bus travel to a rail ticket) is growing and passenger transport executives already have integrated bus and train tickets, safeguarded through rail franchise agreements. The national concessionary bus passes are being introduced on ITSO smartcards and with older people being the biggest users of bus, this gives the potential for further smartcard initiatives.
	The key to more integrated smart ticketing is to establish ITSO on rail in London and elsewhere. ITSO smartcards are being rolled out through new rail franchise agreements and train operators are encouraged to engage with local authorities on ticketing schemes.
	The Northern Way have identified smartcards as a tool which would support economic growth by making public transport more attractive; and are considering how they might potentially encourage take up in the north.

Railways: Buckinghamshire

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the passenger capacity is of commuter trains serving  (a) Wolverton,  (b) Central Milton Keynes and  (c) Bletchley train stations per day; and what the capacity is of (i) peak time services and (ii) an average train serving each.

Tom Harris: Commuter trains to London that serve the three stations in the Milton Keynes area have the capacity to transport over 50,000 passengers in each direction each day. Trains calling for London arrivals between 7 am and 10 am have almost 8,000 seats with an absolute capacity of 13,000. A typical peak time train serving the Milton Keynes area would have 412 seats and an absolute capacity of 720. Capacity at individual stations is a matter for London Midland.

Railways: Buckinghamshire

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people used  (a) Wolverton,  (b) Central Milton Keynes and  (c) Bletchley train stations per day for (i) peak and (ii) non-peak journey times in the latest period for which figures are available; and what projection has been made of the likely numbers in each year until 2031.

Tom Harris: Depending on the time of year, a total of between 15,000 and 20,000 rail passengers use the three stations within the Milton Keynes region every weekday. The morning peak period carries between 5,000 and 8,000 of the daily passengers, the evening peak is almost as popular, and the remainder travel outside of these times. Over two-thirds of all the passengers have an ultimate origin or destination of London.
	We expect numbers to continue to grow significantly over the next few years as a result of the projected population growth in the Milton Keynes region. The Department is providing for this growth by lengthening most peak time trains to 12 cars during 2009. Figures for individual stations are matters for London Midland.
	The Department is currently engaged with Milton Keynes council in assessing the projected passenger numbers in the region as far ahead as 2031 as part of the Intercity Express project.

Railways: Freight

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the steps that need to be taken to facilitate rail freight movements from Felixstowe via Ipswich and Huntingdon to the midlands; what she estimates the cost of such steps to be; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Network Rail Freight Route Utilisation Study, published March 2007, identified the Felixstowe, Ipswich and Peterborough to Nuneaton route as requiring gauge and capacity enhancement to meet growth in demand.
	Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd. (HPUK)the owner of the Port of Felixstoweis funding the cost of upgrading the gauge capability and capacity of the route between Felixstowe, Ipswich, Peterborough and the east coast main line and South Yorkshire.
	The funding commitment from HPUK was made through a Section 106 agreement relating to the planning approval for Port of Felixstowe south quay reconfiguration.
	The Peterborough to Nuneaton route has received 80 million in funding support through the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) for gauge and capacity enhancements to complement the work east of Peterborough. This work will start in April 2008.

Railways: Freight

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the potential for the diversion of freight traffic from the A14 to the rail network ( a) in the absence of improvements to the rail network and  (b) following improvement of the rail path from Felixstowe to the midlands.

Tom Harris: The business case supporting the Peterborough to Nuneaton gauge and capacity enhancement scheme, for which Productivity Transport Innovation Fund funding was announced in October 2007, estimated that these improvements have the potential to remove 65,000 lorry journeys per annum from a number of roads including the A14 when completed.

Railways: Greater London

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the implications for longer-distance commuters of the proposals of the Mayor of London in relation to Southern Metro services including their transfer to his responsibility; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport has received a proposal from the Mayor of London regarding his involvement in the South Central franchising process. We continue to consider the proposal and its implications on all users of the railway.

Railways: Land

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who in her Department is responsible for monitoring BRB (Residuary) Limited's compliance with Departmental guidance on the sale of disused railway lines.

Tom Harris: Ministers are responsible for monitoring BRB (Residuary) Limited's compliance with the departmental guidance on the sale of disused railway lines. In addition, officials from the Department for Transport are members of the Property Review Group which has been established by the company in accordance with that guidance.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will seek an explanation from Network Rail for delays to maintenance work over the Easter holiday on the rail network from Essex into London Liverpool Street; what procedures were put in place following delays to maintenance work on the same network over the new year holiday to prevent a recurrence; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: holding answer 31 March 2008
	These are operational matters for Network Rail. Although the Government have no power to intervene in Network Rail's operations, Ministers regularly meet with Network Rail to discuss a range of issues relating to the railways.

Railways: Standards

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 952-3W, on Great Western Trains, if she will make it her policy to place in the Library copies of each train operating company's four-weekly report on their joint performance improvement plans as soon as they are available.

Tom Harris: The four-weekly reports on joint performance improvement plans contain commercially sensitive information; therefore, it would not be appropriate for these reports to be available in the Library.

Railways: Tickets

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made in extending Oyster card deployment to national rail services in the Greater London area.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport, Transport for London and train operators are working together on the acceptance of Oyster 'Pay As You Go' on rail services in the London Travelcard zones and the acceptance of ITSO smartcards on Oyster equipment. Commercial and contractual negotiations are taking place.

Road Traffic

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the average delay on motorways and trunk roads was for  (a) all journeys and  (b) the 10 per cent. most delayed journeys in each region in each year since 1997;
	(2)  which routes accounted for the most delayed journeys on motorways and trunk roads in each year since 1997; and what the average delay on each of these routes was in each of those years.

Tom Harris: Figures for total and average vehicle delay for individual routes on England's motorways and trunk roads have been placed in the House Libraries. These present delays in respect of all journeys and the worst 10 per cent. of journeys in each year since 2004-05. The earliest available data are for the period August 2004 to July 2005 and the latest for January 2007 to December 2007. Data before 2004-05 are not held on this basis.
	These figures represent average daytime delays (6.00 am to 8.00 pm) on the 91 routes currently used for monitoring performance on the strategic road network. Figures are presented on a rolling year basis.
	Delay is calculated as the difference between observed journey time and a reference journey time (the time that could theoretically be achieved when the traffic is free flowing).
	Figures for average delays on motorways and trunk roads for individual regions are not calculated on this basis.

Roads: Accidents

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by her Department on the number of (i) fatal, (ii) serious and (iii) minor road accidents caused by the driver using on a mobile telephone; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many road accidents were caused by the driver using a mobile telephone in each of the last two years for which information is available; and how many  (a) males and  (b) females (i) were killed, (ii) were seriously injured and (iii) received minor injuries, broken down by (A) driver, (B) front seat passenger and (C) rear seat passenger.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has not commissioned research into the numbers of accidents caused by a driver using a mobile phone and is unaware of research specifically into the numbers of accidents. The Department is aware of research available elsewhere into the risks posed by the use of a mobile phone while driving. That is summarised in sections 5.201 to 5.214 of the report (published in 2000) of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (the Stewart Report) on Mobile Phones and Healthavailable on-line at:
	www.iegmp.org.uk/report/text.htm
	Contributory factor data recorded by police officers in their statistical returns to the Department has indicated there were 306 reported personal injury road accidents with 'driver using mobile phone' in 2005. In 2006, this figure was 345.
	The numbers of  (a) males and  (b) females who were (i) killed, (ii) seriously injured and (iii) slightly injured in personal injury road accidents, reported at the scene by a police officer, involving 'driver using mobile phone' as a contributory factor, by casualty class in 2005 and 2006 are given in the table. Pedestrian casualties are not included in the table.
	
		
			  Number of casualties 
			2005  2006 
			  Casualty severity  Casualty class  Male  Female  Total( 1)  Male  Female  Total( 1) 
			 Killed Driver or rider 8 3 11 17 8 25 
			  Car front seat passenger 0 0 0 2 1 3 
			  Car rear seat passenger 0 0 0 3 0 3 
			  Other-vehicle passenger 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 
			 Seriously injured Driver or rider 30 12 42 31 22 53 
			  Car front seat passenger 4 3 7 3 5 8 
			  Car rear seat passenger 2 0 2 1 2 3 
			  Other-vehicle passenger 1 1 2 0 0 0 
			 
			 Slightly injured Driver or rider 175 89 264 170 127 297 
			  Car front seat passenger 23 31 55 22 . 42 64 
			  Car rear seat passenger 16 22 38 11 26 37 
			  Other-vehicle passenger 1 4 5 12 10 22 
			 (1) Includes cases where gender is not given 
		
	
	The contributory factor 'Driver using mobile phone' includes 'hand held' and 'hands free' phones.

Roads: Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total budget allocated to major road schemes is for  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09,  (c) 2009-10 and  (d) 2010-11.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency's total budget for delivery of major improvement schemes in 2007-08 was 969 million.
	The Highways Agency's budget is set annually and so only available for 2008-09. The Highways Agency's 2008-09 budget for major improvement schemes is 1,049 million.

Roads: Rural Areas

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to reduce deaths and injuries on rural roads.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The majority of the Department's road safety policies will have an impact on the number of deaths and serious injuries on rural roads. In addition there are a number of policies specifically aimed at the rural road network.
	The Department is investing 8 million in a Rural Road Safety Demonstration Project which will be introduced from 1 April 2007 and continue for three years.
	The Rural Road Safety Demonstration Project is intended to demonstrate good practice for local highway authorities in developing and implementing an area wide, data-led, strategy for addressing road casualty reduction in rural areas. It is intended that good practice guidance will be developed from the knowledge gained during the project, and that this will be disseminated to other highway authorities.
	The Department also published guidance to local authorities on setting local speed limits in August 2006. This requests local traffic authorities to review speed limits on their A and B roads, and implement any necessary changes by 2011.
	Lower speed limits are encouraged where the evidence or characteristics of the road warrant this. But equally local traffic authorities should consider increasing limits if it is warranted and can be done safely.

Single European Sky Initiative

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to promote the introduction of the Single European Sky initiative.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government support the Single European Sky (SES) and the associated Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) Project and are working to ensure that the objectives of these two efforts are fully met.
	The UK is an active member, through both the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), of the Single Sky Committee (SSC) which was established in 2004 to give strategic direction. Senior officials from the Department also participated in the High Level Group, which was created by the European Transport Commissioner, to look at the future of the European Aviation Regulatory Framework; the Government fully support its ten recommendations and action plan that were published in July 2007.
	The European Commission are currently working on the drafting of a second package of SES legislation and both the CAA and relevant divisions of the DfT are engaged in that work. The Government will closely scrutinise the proposals for this second package when they are issued later this year.

Somerset County Council

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings her Department has had with the Executive of Somerset County Council in the last three years.

Tom Harris: The Department has met with officers at Somerset county council on a number of occasions over the last three years to discuss transport and operational issues. The following included the attendance of representatives from the Council's Executive:
	24 July 2006Presentation to Somerset County Council at Road Safety Workshop.
	In addition members of the Council's Executive may also have been present at meetings over the last three years between the Department for Transport and the South West Regional Assembly or other regional partnership bodies.

Southern: Trains

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has made an estimate of the number of dual-voltage trains that would be needed to operate both the Watford to Brighton service and the Thameslink service.

Tom Harris: 109 dual-voltage trains will be required to operate the Thameslink service from March 2009. If the Watford-Brighton service were to be retained in its present form, and if the resources were to be set aside for that service, the requirement would be eight trains.

Speed Limits: Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates her Department has made of the changes in carbon dioxide emissions attributed to the variable speed limits in force on the M25 in each year since the scheme was introduced.

Tom Harris: The change in carbon dioxide emissions was estimated as part of the evaluation of the M25 J15-16 controlled motorway scheme. The variable speed limits were operational in the morning (7am to 11am) and evening (3pm to 7pm) peak periods. The assessment showed a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 4.5 per cent. on the northbound section and a reduction of 2.9 per cent. on the southbound section during the peak hours. This translates into a potential weekday saving measured over a calendar year of 1,184 tonnes of carbon dioxide for J15-16.
	Changes in other years and on other sections are expected to be similar.

Speed Limits: Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what account the advanced motorway signalling and traffic management feasibility study took of the impact of carbon dioxide emissions of active traffic management operating at  (a) 50 mph and  (b) 60 mph; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the effect on carbon dioxide emissions if the maximum speed for hard shoulder running in the modelling for the advanced motorway signalling and traffic management feasibility study were reduced from 60 mph to 50 mph.

Tom Harris: All traffic modelling of the impacts of hard shoulder running undertaken as part of the advanced motorway signalling and traffic management feasibility study was carried out on the basis of a 60 mph speed limit during operation of the hard shoulder as a running lane.
	The additional modelling undertaken to ascertain the effects on emissions of the smoothing of the traffic flow brought about by the imposition of controlled lower speed limits and hard shoulder running was done using average speed emissions curves based on actual data collected during the M42 pilot, which operated a 50 mph limit for hard shoulder running. It was not possible to provide a comparison with a 60 mph limit.
	Following detailed safety assessment, hard shoulder running with a 60 mph speed limit is the standard to be adopted for future hard shoulder running schemes, starting with the M42 where this has been operational since 18 March. As a larger data set for hard shoulder running becomes available, the speed emissions relationships will be reviewed.
	Further detail on the modelling undertaken is set out in the advanced motorway signalling and traffic management feasibility study report and technical annex, which are available on the DfT website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/network/policy/mtorsigntrafmanagement/

Thameslink: Trains

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dual-voltage trains will be available to run on Thameslink following the decision to order 11 new trains; and how many trains will remain on the West London Line.

Tom Harris: 109 dual-voltage trains will be available to run on Thameslink, so that there will now be no need to transfer class 377 (Electrostar) trains from the West London Line to Thameslink. However, Southern has now lost the opportunity to use class 465 (Networker) trains, which were to have been transferred from Southeastern, because of gauge clearance problems on Southern routes. In the light of this information, Southern is now having to re-assess the rolling stock allocations for all its suburban routes.

Thameslink: Trains

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on the proposal to transfer trains from the West London Line to Thameslink since the order of 11 new trains for Thameslink.

Tom Harris: There will now be no need to transfer class 377 (Electrostar) trains from the West London Line to Thameslink. However, Southern has now lost the opportunity to use class 465 (Networker) trains, which were to have been transferred from Southeastern, because of gauge clearance problems on Southern routes. In the light of this information, Southern is now having to re-assess its rolling stock allocations.

Train Operating Companies: Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requests have been received from train operating companies for extra rolling stock which have been  (a) agreed to and  (b) rejected since 1 January 2005.

Tom Harris: There are a number of discussions which have taken place since 2005 which have resulted in contract orders on a number of train operating companies.
	
		
			  Contract date  TOC  Number of vehicles  Type 
			 May 2005 Chiltern 6 Diesel 
			 June 2005 Southeastern 174 Electric 
			 February 2006 SWT 68 Electric 
			 May 2007 Southern 48 Electric 
			 August 2007 London Midland 148 Electric 
			 December 2007 London Midland 69 Diesel 
			 January 2008 Chiltern 8 Diesel

Transport: Higher Civil Servants

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to which  (a) private companies,  (b) other organisations and  (c) lobbying organisations in the transport sector former senior officials from her Department have gone to work on leaving the Department in the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Before departure, all Senior Civil Service staff are reminded of their obligation under the business appointment rules to seek permission before accepting an outside appointment within two years of leaving Crown Service.
	Senior Civil Servants' applications to accept outside appointments in the last five years were to the following organisations:
	 (a) Private Companies
	Price Waterhouse Coopers
	Bomel
	Accord Consultancy Services
	WSP Management and Consultancy
	Consultancy for Association of Train Operating Companies
	Jacobs UK Ltd
	British Airways (Airline Flight Safety Review Board)
	Serco Science
	Alpha to Omega Motoring Ltd
	Faber Maunsell
	Det Norske Veritas
	Mouchel Parkman Services
	Steer Davies Gleave
	Brookings Institute (USA)
	Consultant for EDS
	Downer EDI Works ltd (in New Zealand)
	GNER/MTR
	Securicor
	 (b) Other Organisations
	Civil Aviation Authority
	Transport for London
	Guide Dogs for the Blind
	Disability Rights Commission
	Government of Ontario.
	European Commission
	St Johns Ambulance
	Northampton County Council
	Essex County Council
	Transport Research Laboratory
	 (c) Lobbying Organisations
	No applicants have classified their prospective employer as a Transport lobbying organisation, but some of those under(a) will carry out lobbying activity in this area.

Tyne and Wear : Metro:

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much capital funding from the public purse the Tyne and Wear Metro received in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many people were prosecuted for fare evasion on the Tyne and Wear Metro in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many passengers travelled on the Tyne and Wear Metro in each year since 1997.

Tom Harris: The figures for passenger journeys and prosecutions are as follows.
	
		
			   Number of Passenger journeys (million)  Number of Prosecutions (as advised by Nexus) 
			 1997-98 35.0 1,220 
			 1998-99 33.8 1,015 
			 1999-2000 32.7 1,904 
			 2000-01 32.5 1,877 
			 2001-02 33.4 2,827 
			 2002-03 36.6 2,995 
			 2003-04 37.9 3,477 
			 2004-05 36.8 4,627 
			 2005-06 35.8 5,723 
			 2006-07 37.9 5,738 
		
	
	The prosecutions are mostly for fare evasion but the figures include a small element for other offences, for example relating to trespass and disorder. A precise breakdown is not available.
	Since April 1997 the Government have provided the following specific capital funding.
	
		
			   Purpose   million 
			 1999-2000 to 2003-04 Extension of the Metro to Sunderland 37.465 
			 2000-01 Metrocar refurbishment 0.46 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 Four Lane Ends Bus/Metro Interchange 7.625 
			 2000-01 CCTV provision 7.2 
		
	
	The Government have also supported investment in the Metro through local transport capital block funding provided to the Tyne and Wear local authorities and the Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus) though the local transport plan (LTP) system and previous arrangements. The proportion of this funding spent on the Metro is a matter for the local LTP partners and information is not held centrally. Nexus has also received grants from the European Commission for Metro capital funding.
	In addition the Government have provided an annual subsidy for the Metro in every year since 1997. Up to and including 2004-05 this was provided solely as revenue support although Nexus were able to use this for capital spending on the Metro. In 2005-06 and 2006-07 the annual subsidy has included a specific element of capital grant of 4.180 million and 4.305 million respectively.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: Consultants

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by Vehicle and Operator Services Agency on consultants in each of the last five financial years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was formed in April 2003, since then VOSA's consultancy costs are as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2003-04 3.0 
			 2004-05 3.4 
			 2005-06 1.4 
			 2006-07 3.0 
			 2007-08 (1)2.4 
			 (1) Year to date

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: Finance

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total Vehicle and Operator Services Agency staff salary bill was in each of the last five financial years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was formed in April 2003, since then VOSA's total staff salary bill has been as follows:
	
		
			   000 
			 2003-04 69,081 
			 2004-05 78,018 
			 2005-06 85,671 
			 2006-07 86,268 
			 2007-08 (1) 
			 (1) Figures not available yet

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: ICT

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason laptops and hand-held devices issued within the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency have been recalled; what effect this recall is expected to have on enforcement and other activities; and when it is expected that all laptops and hand-held devices will be reissued to staff.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In accordance with Government-wide direction, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) implemented the policy that no unencrypted departmental laptops or drives containing personal data should be taken outside secured office premises.
	The agency minimised the impact on its enforcement activities through increased use of encrypted mobile compliance devices (MCDs), laptops with printing function disabled, and temporary paper-based enforcement processes.
	The overall impact was a temporary reduction in VOSA's normal enforcement performance of about 20 per cent. The agency completed deployment of encrypted operations laptops on 11 March 2008.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: Manpower

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has for  (a) future numbers of Vehicle and Operator Services Agency inspection staff and  (b) their terms of employment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has  (a) no plans to alter the number of inspection staff in test stations in the future, however, there are plans to increase the number of staff involved in enforcement activity. There are 30 new frontline posts as a result of re-investing under the Gershon review and 97 posts as a result of additional DFT funding.
	 (b) The posts will be recruited with staff on newly agreed flexible working patterns to allow the continued roll-out of extended working patterns which was piloted at ports in the south-east.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: Manpower

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there are plans to alter the  (a) number and  (b) terms of employment of Vehicle and Operator Services Agency staff who will issue fixed penalty notices.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has no plans to alter the  (a) number and  (b) terms of employment of Vehicle and Operator Services Agency staff that will issue fixed penalty notices. However, VOSA is rolling out revised working patterns for Enforcement staff on a staged basis, with a view to having as many as possible 24/7 shift working contracts over the coming year or two.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Drugs

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on trends in opium production in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts annual surveys of opium cultivation in Afghanistan. We remain concerned by the total opium cultivation figures, but welcome the UNODC's findings in its Rapid Assessment survey, that they expect cultivation to decrease slightly in 2008. Poppy cultivation has increased primarily in the south, where insecurity is greatest. In the north and eastwhere security, alternative livelihoods and governance existspoppy cultivation has fallen: in 2007, the number of poppy free provinces doubled from six to 13. (Further information is available in the joint UK/US paper, 'Fighting the Opium Trade in Afghanistan: Myths, Facts, and Sound Policy'available on the counter narcotics page at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/ukandafghanistan).
	This year we hope to see further progress and support the government of Afghanistan's target of over half of all provinces becoming poppy free in 2008. The following data are drawn from the UNODC surveys.
	
		
			   Estimated opium poppy cultivation  (hectares)  Potential total volume of opium production (metric tonnes) 
			 2007 193,000 8,200 
			 2006 165,000 6,100 
			 2005 104,000 4,100 
			 2004 131,000 4,200 
			 2003 80,000 3,600 
			 2002 74,000 3,400 
			 2001 8,000 185 
			 2000 82,172 3,276 
			 1999 91,983 4,565 
			 1998 64,674 2,693

Armenia: Elections

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) conduct and  (b) outcome of the election in Armenia on 19 February 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The UK supports the various pre-election and post election interim assessments made by the independent International Election Observation Mission (IEOM), in which it participated. These generally noted some improvements on previous elections, highlighting for example genuine attempts to address previously identified shortcomings; a non-discriminatory candidate registration process; the ability of candidates to campaign at public meetings; and improvements in electoral legislation and in the accuracy of the national register of votes.
	The IEOM, however, raised many concerns, such as the lack of clear separation between state and party functions and the unequal treatment of candidates in the media; and the vote count in some 16 per cent. of polling stations visited was assessed as bad or very bad. A subsequent interim report from the IEOM three weeks later, following the handling of complaints, appeals and recounts, was much more critical of these processes. The Armenian Constitutional Court rejected appeals from opposition candidates challenging the election results.
	With EU partners and bilaterally, we have expressed our serious concerns about recent political developments in Armenia, including violent clashes with demonstrators on 1 March, which resulted in eight deaths and scores of injured. We have urged the Armenian government to engage in a dialogue with the opposition to address their concerns. We welcome the recent lifting of the state of emergency in Yerevan, but we urge the Armenian authorities to lift continuing restrictions on freedom of assembly; to avoid further harassment of opposition politicians and ensure that any prosecutions are handled in a transparent and fair manner; to ensure an independent and open inquiry into the events of 1 March; and to address the substantive concerns raised by the IEOM.

Bombs

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to ensure that civil society organisations will have a strong voice during the negotiations in May on a treaty banning cluster munitions.

Kim Howells: The Government welcomes the continued active participation of civil society organisations in the Oslo Process on cluster munitions. At the Dublin meeting in May, final negotiations on the text of a treaty will take place and civil society organisations are being invited to attend by the Government of Ireland as observers as per the rules of procedure for Dublin which can be found at:
	http://www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie/pdf/draft-rules-for-dublin-c-en.pdf.
	The Government are pleased with the outcome of the last Oslo Process meeting in Wellington (18-22 February), where the UK was able to join many other nations in supporting the Wellington Declaration this document can be found at:
	http://www.mfat.govt.nz/clustermunitionswellington/conference-documents/Wellington-declaration-final.pdf.
	We believe that this declaration and the associated compendium of proposals, which includes contributions from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Cluster Munition Coalition, pave the way for a successful outcome in Dublin, securing a legally binding instrument prohibiting the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of those cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

Central African Republic: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received reports of Lord's Resistance Army troop movements into the Central African Republic; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government are aware of unverified reports that the Lord's Resistance Army is relocating from Garamba national park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the Central African Republic.

Chad: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of recent claims by the Government of Chad of Sudanese support of rebel forces active in Chad; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We are aware of reports that both Sudan and Chad continue to support each other's rebels. The Government, together with the UN, the EU and the African Union, has urged both sides to cease all support for armed groups in the region, commit to a peace process and abide by previous ceasefire agreements.

Chad: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the  (a) political and  (b) security situation in Chad; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The political and security situation in Chad remains unstable following rebel incursions into the capital, N'Djamena, on 2 February 2008. The UN estimated that roughly 30,000 people were forced to flee into neighbouring Cameroon during the fighting, though many Chadians have now returned to N'Djamena.
	In the East, roughly 13,000 new refugees have crossed the border from Sudan. UN and humanitarian operations in Eastern Chad were curtailed during the fighting, but have largely returned to normal. EUFOR, the EU force in Eastern Chad and the Central African Republic, has now reached initial operating capability and will increase security around refugee and Internally Displaced Persons camps.
	The Dakar Accord was signed by the Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno and the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir in Senegal on 13 March 2008. It commits the two countries to reconciling their differences, normalising relations and contributing to stability in the region. The Government welcome the signing of this agreement.

Chad: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives in (i) N'Djamena and (ii) Yaounde have had with (A) members and (B) representatives of the government of Chad on the (1) grounds for and (2) nature of the detention of former President Lol Mahamat Choua; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The UK is represented in Chad through our high commission in Yaounde. We have not had any bilateral contact with members or representatives of the government of Chad on this issue. We are supporting EU efforts to investigate the circumstances surrounding the detention of Lol Mahamat Choua and the arrest of several other Chadian political opposition leaders. EU representatives have been in contact with Chadian opposition politicians.
	The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council Conclusions of 18 February 2008 stated
	The Council expresses its deep concern over the arrest of members of the unarmed political opposition in Chad, including Mr. Choua. The Council calls on President Deby to show restraint and immediately release these detainees.
	We will continue to support EU initiatives encouraging an official Chadian Commission of Inquiry into this matter.

Chad: Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the accord signed between the Governments of Chad and Sudan at the Dakar summit on 14 March; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Dakar Accord was signed by the Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno and the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir in Senegal on 13 March 2008. It commits the two countries to reconciling their differences, normalising relations and contributing to stability in the region. The Government welcome the signing of this agreement. We will make clear to both Chad and Sudan that we expect them to abide by the terms of this agreement.

Chad: Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department  (a) offered and  (b) provided to the Government of Senegal in reaching the Dakar agreement between the Governments of Chad and Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Dakar Accord between Chad and Sudan was an initiative of President Wade of Senegal. The Government were not asked for any assistance in facilitating the agreement.
	We welcome the Dakar Accord and will make clear to both Chad and Sudan that we expect them to abide by the terms of this agreement.

Chad: Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of peace accords reached between the Governments of Sudan and Chad in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: There have been several peace accords between Chad and Sudan in the last five years. The most notable of these are the Tripoli Agreement of 8 February 2006, the Khartoum Agreement of 28 August 2006, the Cannes Declaration of 15 February 2007 and the Riyadh Agreement of 3 May 2007. These agreements have not been respected by the Governments of Chad and Sudan.
	The Government welcome the new Dakar Accord, signed on 13 March 2008 by President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad and President Omar Hassan Bashir of Sudan. We will make clear to both Chad and Sudan that we expect them to abide by the terms of this agreement.

Chad: Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of relations between Sudan and Chad; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Tensions between Chad and Sudan remain high following the cross-border fighting in January 2008 and the Chadian rebel incursions into N'Djamena on 2 February 2008. The Dakar Accord, signed in Senegal on 13 March 2008, commits both sides to reconciling their differences, normalising relations and contributing to stability in the region. We will make clear to both Chad and Sudan that we expect them to abide by the terms of this agreement.

Colombia: Armed Conflict

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the evidential basis is for the statement that Justice for Colombia supports the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia made by the Minister of State for South America; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: This Government regard an active civil society, able to operate freely and without fear, as a fundamental aspect of any democracy, particularly so in a country as dangerous as Colombia. Trade unionists have an absolutely key role in this.
	We welcome the opportunity to work with all those organisations who share our goal of promoting peace and prosperity in Colombia, including the Trades Union Congress and Justice for Colombia. We intend to work closely with British trade unions and their affiliated bodies to uphold the rights and security of trade unionists in Colombia.

Colombia: Trade Unions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Colombia on the  (a) protection of trade unionists in that country and  (b) deaths of Antonio Gomez and Carmen Carvajal Ramirez; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We regard human rights defenders and trade unionists as a fundamental part of Colombian civil society. We have repeatedly urged the Colombian government to do their utmost to ensure that these brave people can take forward their essential work safely and with adequate protection. I did so when visiting Colombia in November 2007, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did so with the Colombian Vice President in March. I also reiterated the Government's strong support to a delegation of Colombian trade unionists who visited the UK in early March, a visit co-organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
	I have urged the Colombian government to continue with its programme of expanding protection to trade unions and other human rights defenders, including when I spoke to Vice President Santos and the new Colombian Ambassador to London in March 2008. We will continue to discuss with the Colombian TUC and their UK counterparts how this Government can offer its practical support to Colombian trade unionists.
	We make regular and numerous representations to the Colombian government on specific cases of abuse of trade unionists. I have asked our Embassy in Bogota to make representations to the Colombian government on the cases of Antonio Gomez and Carmen Carvajal Ramirez, and will write to the hon. Member with the outcome of those representations once the Embassy receives a response. I will also arrange for copies of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.

Credit Cards: Fraud

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to encourage UK citizens to minimise the risk of credit card fraud whilst abroad.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office website warns British nationals travelling abroad, of known credit card scams and frauds in its country specific Travel Advice pages. In addition, there is general advice on how to avoid credit card fraud while travelling abroad in the travelling-and-living abroad section:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/staying-safe-/travel-insurance/credit-card-protection.

Departmental Databases

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 642-3W, on departmental databases, which US-registered service providers have been engaged; and what types of personal information they have been engaged to manage.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold this information centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Meg Munn: No staff from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or its agencies, have attended the Influencing with Integrity, Emotional Intelligence, Counselling Skills for the Workplace, Managing your Confidence, Balancing Work/Life Realities and Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months.

Entry Clearances

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many ancestral visas were issued in the last five years for which figures are available; and what the countries of origin were of the applicants to which they were issued.

Jim Murphy: Figures for ancestral visas are only available for the last four years and are as follows:
	
		
			  Nationality  2004  2005  2006  2007  Grand total 
			 Australia 4,230 4,742 4,548 3,779 17,299 
			 New Zealand 2,165 2,092 2,247 2,064 8,568 
			 South Africa 2,036 2,299 2,045 1,722 8,102 
			 Canada 514 585 556 518 2,173 
			 Zimbabwe 344 290 257 218 1,109 
			 India 26 30 24 21 101 
			 Zambia 15 19 10 9 53 
			 Kenya 9 11 6 7 33 
			 Sri Lanka 5 11 3 4 23 
			 Ghana 7 5 3 5 20 
			 Tanzania 1 1 8 8 18 
			 Malawi 1 10 2 3 16 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 3 5 6 2 16 
			 Uganda 4 3 5 4 16 
			 Nigeria 2 2 5 4 13 
			 Botswana 2 4 1 4 11 
			 Malaysia 7 1 2 1 11 
			 Jamaica 1 5 4 0 10 
			 Namibia 7 3 0 0 10 
			 Pakistan 1 4 1 1 7 
			 Bangladesh 0 2 3 0 5 
			 Mauritius 2 0 1 2 5 
			 Barbados 1 2 1 0 4 
			 Thailand 4 0 0 0 4 
			 United States 1 2 1 0 4 
			 Guyana 0 3 0 0 3 
			 Mozambique 1 1 0 1 3 
			 St. Lucia 0 3 0 0 3 
			 Bahamas 0 2 0 0 2 
			 British overseas citizen 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Sierra Leone 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Singapore 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Swaziland 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Austria 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Belize 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Cameroon 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Central African Republic 1 0 0 0 1 
			 China 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Fiji 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Malta 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Mauritania 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Nepal 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Romania 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Russia 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Grand total 9,397 10,143 9,741 8,380 37,661 
			  Notes: 1. Date range 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2007 2. These statistics have not been published and should be used for informational purposes. All data are based on UK ancestryemployment only  Source: MSR Search Date: 26 March 2008

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives in (i) Zagreb and (ii) Belgrade have had with (A) members and (B) representatives of the Governments of (x) Croatia and (y) Serbia on the (1) beginning of the trial of General Ante Gotovina, (2) co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), (3) future co-operation with the ICTY and (4) (aa) diplomatic and (bb) economic incentives for such co-operation; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia's (ICTY) view is that Croatia continues to co-operate fully with ICTY and has done so since October 2005. We welcome this. We have not held formal meetings with the Croatian Government to discuss the opening of the trial of General Ante Gotovina. Continued full co-operation with ICTY remains a condition for their progression on the EU accession track.
	The issue of Serbia's co-operation with ICTY arises regularly in ministerial and official-level contacts with the Serbian Government. We regularly press the Serbian Government to fully co-operate with ICTY.
	The UK is committed to seeing all four outstanding ICTY indictees, including Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, arrested and brought to trial before the Tribunal. The UK has given full and consistent support, both practical and political, to ICTY's work.

Kenya: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the vote in Kenya's parliament on 18 March, unanimously approving the power-sharing agreement between Mr. Odinga and Mr. Kibaki; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government welcomed the power-sharing agreement signed by President Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate, Raila Odinga, on 28 February. The constitutional reforms passed unanimously on 18 March to enshrine the agreement in law. It is important that Kenya's leaders display the leadership, patience and tolerance necessary to ensure that the agreement is implemented in full.

Kosovo: Civil Disorder

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the civil unrest in Mitrovica on 18 March; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Our embassy in Pristina provided detailed reporting on the disturbances in Mitrovica on 17 March 2008. We understand that the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) will be carrying out an investigation into the events of the day.
	On the morning of 17 March, UN police entered the UN court building in Mitrovica to arrest Kosovo Serb protestors who had occupied the building on 14 March. In response, Kosovo Serbs attacked UNMIK police and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR)) troops, including with grenades and small arms fire. 25 UNMIK police officers and 22 KFOR troops were injured and one Ukrainian police officer was killed. Serbian media report that around 70 Kosovo Serb civilians were injured. We have strongly condemned the violent disturbances directed against UN and NATO personnel. The situation is currently calm but tense in northern Kosovo and stable elsewhere. Our embassy in Pristina continues to monitor the situation on the ground in Northern Kosovo.

Nagorno Karabakh

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with the government of (i) Azerbaijan, (ii) Armenia, (iii) Russia, (iv) the US and (v) with the European Commission on (A) reported statements by Azeri President Ilham Aliev on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, (B) recent reports of armed clashes on 4 March 2008 and (C) possible initiatives in response to events in the region; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The armed clashes on the line of contact between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, along with statements by the leadership of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, have been discussed extensively by our officials in Baku and Yerevan, in Vienna among the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) member states, in Brussels among EU partners and between officials in London and the Azerbaijan embassy. I sent a message to the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister urging that they do everything possible to calm the situation, including ensuring that the personal representative of the OSCE chairman in office to the Minsk Group is granted the necessary access to enable him and his staff to obtain clarity of the events of 4 March. Others including the US, the Finnish Foreign Minister, as the OSCE Chairman in Office, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the EU have issued statements or sent messages urging restraint on both sides.
	Officials will remain in close contact with all the relevant parties, including the mediators. We continue to urge all sides to calm the current tensions and to resume contacts leading towards a negotiated settlement, which remains the only way to secure a lasting, peaceful resolution of the dispute.

Nagorno Karabakh

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the recent statements by Azeri President Ilham Aliev on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We are following closely the situation in Azerbaijan and Armenia following fighting along the Line of Contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces on 4 March, and have noted the statements made by both sides since the adoption of a resolution on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, by the UN General Assembly, on 14 March.
	We have seen some suggestions that one, or both of the parties, may withdraw from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group-facilitated negotiation process for a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The EU statement made at the UN on 14 March supported the mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, expressed support for all steps which contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and called upon all parties to avoid actions which heighten tensions. We will continue to impress upon the sides that there is no sustainable alternative to a peacefully negotiated solution.

Natural Gas: Prices

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the likely political effects of the decision announced on 11 March 2008 by KazMunaiGas, Uzbekneftgaz and Turkmengaz to raise prices for natural gas; what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives have had with the governments of (i) Kazakhstan, (ii) Turkmenistan and (iii) Uzbekistan on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: It was announced on 11 March, following a meeting between the Chief Executive Officer of Russia's Gazprom and the heads of the Kazakh, Turkmen and Uzbek state gas companies, that Gazprom would pay European market rates for the Central Asian gas that it imports, beginning from 2009. However, the announcement is a framework agreement and the exact pricing formula has yet to be determined. It is expected that the actual price paid for the gas will be based on a net-back formula related to the cost of the gas, less transport costs.
	There has been significant press speculation on the agreement and the underlying reasons behind it, in particular on the likelihood that Gazprom will seek to pass on the increased price to Ukraine and the impact that this may have on the price Ukraine pays for its gas. However, until the exact commercial parameters of the agreement are clear, it would be premature to draw conclusions about its likely political effects.
	We have not had any formal discussions with the Governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on this issue since 11 March. However, we remain in regular contact, both bilaterally and through the EU, with all three governments on energy related issues.

Organisation of the Islamic Conference

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the achievements of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference since its establishment; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference comprises 57 member states from across the Islamic world making it the second largest intergovernmental organisation after the UN. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office considers it an important organisation for intercultural dialogue, reducing poverty and addressing other global and regional issues.

Organisation of the Islamic Conference

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) possibility and  (b) merits of having a European Union observer at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC); what discussions (i) he, (ii) his Department and (iii) UK representatives have had with (A) members and (B) representatives of (1) the governments of members states of the OIC, (2) the Permanent Secretariat of the OIC, (3) the governments of member states of the European Union and (4) the European Commission concerning observer status for the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Formal contact between the EU and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) currently takes place on an ad hoc basis. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not sought observer status for the EU at the OIC.

Russia: Oppression

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives overseas have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the Government of Russia on the detention of Maxim Reznick; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We welcome the news that Maksim Reznik was released from custody on 21 March 2008, following a decision made by the St. Petersburg court.
	The UK regularly raises its concerns over human rights violations, including individual cases, both in its annual bilateral consultations and through the EU. The next EU/Russia human rights dialogue will be held on 17 April 2008. We will continue to monitor this case closely.

Serbia: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the proposed resolution by the Serb parliament abandoning Serbia's pursuit of membership of the European Union unless EU member states rescind their recognition of Kosovo's statehood; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Our embassy in Belgrade closely follows political developments in Serbia. The resolution, proposed by the Radical party, was not endorsed by the Serbian Government and was not debated by the Serb Parliament. The Parliament has now been dissolved pending elections scheduled for 11 May.

Serbia: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) the UK representative in (i) Belgrade, (ii) Pristina and (iii) Moscow have had with (A) members and (B) representatives of the governments of (1) Serbia, (2) Kosovo and (3) Russia on (x) the proposed resolution by the Serb parliament abandoning Serbia's pursuit of membership of the European Union unless EU member states rescind their recognition of Kosovo's statement, (y) possible reactions by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo and (z) Russia's position on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The resolution, proposed by the Radical party, was not endorsed by the Serbian Government and was not debated by the Serb Parliament. The Parliament has now been dissolved pending elections scheduled for 11 May.

Serbia: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) the UK representative in (i) Brussels, (ii) Berlin, (iii) Paris and (iv) Madrid have had with (A) members and (B) representatives of the European Commission and the governments of (1) Germany, (2) France and (3) Spain on (w) the proposed resolution by the Serb parliament, abandoning Serbia's pursuit of membership of the European Union unless EU member states rescind their recognition of Kosovo's statement, (x) possible reactions by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo, (y) Russia's position on this issue and (z) the possibility of a co-ordinated response by the EU and member states; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The resolution, proposed by the Radical party, was not endorsed by the Serbian Government and was not debated by the Serb Parliament. The Parliament has now been dissolved pending elections scheduled for 11 May.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last discussed Serbia's European future with his EU colleagues, including those from Germany, France and Spain, and with the European Commission, at the Gymnich meeting in Brdo, Slovenia on 28-29 March.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives overseas have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of (A) the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, (B) the government of Ethiopia, (C) the European Union Commission, (D) the governments of member states of the European Union and (E) the United States administration on the recent increase in fighting in (1) Mogadishu and (2) elsewhere in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government maintain regular contact with all of the relevant actors. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, met with President Yusuf in January 2008 and with Prime Minister Hussein at the African Union Summit in February 2008, where he also met Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia. Officials at our high commission in Nairobi and our embassy in Addis Ababa are in regular contact with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, including the President and Prime Minister, and with the Government of Ethiopia. Officials in London, overseas in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Washington, in Brussels and at the UK Mission to the UN in New York are in regular contact with their counterparts in other EU missions, with the EU Commission and the US administration. Close co-operation with our international partners ensures that our messages and assistance to Somalia are consistent, mutually reinforcing, and supportive of efforts made by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General to achieve progress on political, security and humanitarian tracks.

Somalia: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of progress on  (a) establishing security,  (b) establishing the rule of law and  (c) improving humanitarian conditions in Somalia since the beginning of 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government continue to work with international partners and the UN to make progress on security, rule of law and improving humanitarian conditions in Somalia.
	Security remains of concern. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), established to provide an external security presence, is still building up its deployment. Most recently, the UK has provided funding to assist Burundian troops to deploy and has funded a reconnaissance visit by the Nigerian military ahead of their planned deployment. Increasing the numbers of AMISOM troops will help to improve the security of Mogadishu. However, long-term security will be dependent on a political solution and the establishment of the rule of law.
	The UK contributes to the UN Development Programme Rule of Law and Security programme (ROLS) in Somalia. Through the Department for International Development, the UK has committed 6 million to the ROLS programme since 2006. Currently 3,410 Somali police officers have been trained. These officers will form the core of future civilian law enforcement, leading to a more secure environment for all Somalis.
	The humanitarian conditions in Somalia remain very difficult. The Prime Minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, has 17 years of humanitarian experience. He has shown himself an effective partner in tackling both the humanitarian issues and political reconciliation in Somalia. We expect this to lead to improved aid community access to those in need. During 2007, the UK committed 8.6 million in additional humanitarian assistance, beyond our annual programme, to respond to the suffering of the people of Somalia.

Somalia: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) political and  (b) security situation in Somalia since January; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government assess that the political situation in Somalia has improved since January, offering a fresh opportunity for Somalis to make real progress on the issues facing that nation. The appointment of Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and the endorsement of his cabinet in January marked a significant point. Since January the Transitional Federal Government has agreed a package of assistance with the European Union, has drawn up a reconciliation plan for clans in Mogadishu and a timetable for a Constitutional Process and has begun working closely with the UN and the international donor community.
	The Government assess that the security situation remains fragile. However, further political progress will lead to long-term improvements in the security situation and allow for further reconciliation and state-building to take place. However, we also recognise that progress on building trust between the parties is likely to take time, since Somalia has experienced much violence and suffering during the past 17 years. We therefore continue to encourage all parties to take responsibility for participating in continuing and constructive dialogue to settle their political differences and to call for an end to the violence.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives in Colombo have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of (A) the government of Sri Lanka and (B) the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on (1) civilian deaths since and (2) the humanitarian effects of (x) the resumption of major fighting in Sri Lanka in August 2006 and (y) the government's formal withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement on 2nd January 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The conflict and its impact on civilians is the focus of high level discussions between the British and Sri Lankan governments. We are gravely concerned by the humanitarian impact of the conflict on the civilian population. All parties to the conflict need to do more to protect civilians.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in November 2007 in Kampala. He said that we stood ready to support a process of reconciliation and underlined the need for respect for human rights and democracy. During visits by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Dr. Howells) to Sri Lanka in February and July 2007, he expressed deep concern at the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation.
	The Government do not regularly meet the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). My right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy) visited Sri Lanka, including LTTE controlled territory in November 2006, to share his experience of peace-building in Northern Ireland with the parties to the conflict. Officials from our high commission in Colombo and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office meet representatives of a broad range of Tamil views, on a regular basis.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the viability of introducing a no-fly zone in regions of the Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We rule nothing out but we are not currently proposing a no-fly zone for Darfur. We assess that a no-fly zone would restrict essential humanitarian operations and be a major logistical challenge due to the size of Darfur and the lack of available air assets. The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur is mandated to monitor military activity, including flights prohibited by UN Security Council Resolution 1591. We continue to push for its rapid and effective deployment.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the implications of fighting in southern Sudan between the armed forces of Southern Sudan and the Misseriya since late November 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We are aware of clashes between units of the Sudan People's Liberation Army and armed elements of the Misseriya tribes in Southern Sudan, and that the UN Mission in Sudan personnel are mediating to end the fighting. We continue to press both the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan to deal with the root causes of these clashes and deliver basic services.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the willingness of  (a) the government of Sudan,  (b) the Sudanese Liberation Army,  (c) the Justice and Equality Movement,  (d) other rebel groups and  (e) the Janjaweed in Darfur to reach a political solution to the civil war; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The African Union and UN Special Envoys assess that there are five main rebel groups in Darfur: the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the United Resistance Front (URF) and three factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM/Abdel Wahid, SLM/Abdel Shafie and SLM/Unity). Of these, SLM/Unity and the URF have publicly stated their readiness to participate in political talks, whereas the other three have yet to do so. The Special Envoys are currently talking to all these groups to encourage them to unify and agree common platforms for negotiations with the government of Sudan. The envoys will return to Sudan on 7 April to continue this process and we have urged them to intensify contacts with the movements.
	We welcome the government of Sudan's public commitment to attend further political talks, but this commitment must be matched by action that builds confidence with the rebels, including stopping attacks in Darfur and reigning in the Janjaweed militia, as they committed to in the Darfur peace agreement. Similarly the various movements, including JEM, must cease military activity.
	The views of wider Darfuri society, including Arab groups, need to be taken into account in the political process. We are urging the Special Envoys and their staff, and the UN Civil Affairs and the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Co-operation (set up as a result of the Darfur peace agreement) to co-operate and work with civil-society in this process.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the government of Russia on its position on Darfur (A) prior to and (B) since Ambassador Vitaly Churkin's statement at the UN Security Council meeting on 11 March; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Following the 11 March UN Security Council consultations on Darfur, the Security Council agreed that Russia, as Council chair, would brief the media: expressing the Council's concern at the worsening security and humanitarian situation; calling for a cease-fire; reiterating the need for all parties to facilitate the UN African Union Mission in Darfur's (UNAMID) deployment; recalling the obligation of all parties to engage in political talks; and looking forward to a positive result between Sudan and Chad in Dakar.
	We have regular discussions with the Government of Russia about Darfur. We have urged Russia to support the effective deployment of UNAMID and to use its influence with the Government of Sudan to press Sudan to fulfil its commitments and end the violence.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the time needed to deploy the remaining 17,000 United Nations and African Union troops projected to operate in Darfur; what the main logistical difficulties are in deploying the full number; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) currently has approximately 10,500 personnel, including troops, police and other civilian staff. We understand further Egyptian and Ethiopian battalions, and supporting units, are due to deploy by the end of May. As one of the most complex and logistically difficult missions the UN has ever undertaken, UNAMID is unlikely to reach full deployment before the end of 2008.
	Several African troop contributing countries require assistance with training and equipping prior to deployment; we are supporting with 4 million to assist their deployment. Delays in generating force capabilities, and lack of co-operation from the Government of Sudan, have also slowed deployment of UNAMID. We are pressing the Government of Sudan to expedite UNAMID deployment and we are working closely with the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations in lobbying to fill capability shortfalls.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the government of Sudan on (A) the current and (B) the proposed deployment of troops as part of the African Union/United Nations hybrid operations in Darfur; what concerns have been raised by the government of Sudan; what conditions have been (1) proposed and (2) attached to the deployment; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 12 March called for the UN-African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to be in place as quickly as possible and on 19 March announced 4 million to support African troops deploying for UNAMID. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary called for the speedy deployment of UNAMID in a joint statement with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 27 February. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, has repeatedly pressed the Government of Sudan to expedite the deployment of UNAMID, including during his visit to Sudan and the AU Summit between 28 January and 1 February. Our ambassador in Khartoum and other officials are also in regular contact with the Sudanese government on this issue.
	The terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1769 reflect an agreement between the UN and the AU that UNAMID should be 'predominantly African' in character. This allows for non-African troop contributions, particularly where specific capabilities are required. The Government of Sudan has argued that sufficient troops have been pledged by African countries. We have pressed the AU and the UN to choose the troops needed to ensure an effective mission, irrespective of nationality. And we have called on the Government of Sudan to accept the force composition agreed by the UN and the AU and remove all obstacles to the effective deployment of UNAMID.

Sudan: Sanctions

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Chinese government to support UN sanctions against Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed Darfur with Chinese Premier Wen during his visit to China on 18 January. UK Ministers subsequently agreed with the Chinese Special Envoy for Africa, Liu Guijin, in London on 21-22 February the key goals of:
	accelerating the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur deployment so as to improve security and humanitarian access;
	re-energising the Darfur political process; and
	supporting implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reinforced these messages during his visit to China on 25-29 February, both in talks with Chinese Ministers and in a public speech at Peking university.
	We continue to make clear that the UK will pursue further targeted sanctions against any party that undermines resolution of the Darfur conflict. We have regular discussions with other members of the UN Security Council, including China, that sanctions must be one of a range of measures to help resolve the conflict.

Uganda: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives have had with the governments of (i) the Central African Republic, (ii) Uganda and (iii) the Democratic Republic of Congo on recent activity by the Lord's Resistance Army; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government have not had any discussions with the Governments of the Central African Republic, Uganda or the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding recent activity by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). We are aware that discussions regarding the LRA have taken place between these Governments at the regional level.

Uganda: Armed Conflict

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with President Yoweri Museveni on  (a) government negotiations with the Lord's Resistance Army and  (b) the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Joseph Kony; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with President Museveni. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, discussed the Lord's Resistance Army and the International Criminal Court warrants with Ugandan Foreign Minister Kutesa on 10 March in London. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Museveni discussed the conflict in northern Uganda when they met at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kampala on 24 November 2007.

Uganda: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to President Yoweri Museveni's statement in London on 11 March 2008 and the answer on 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 650W, on Uganda: politics and government, what assessment his Department has made of the (i) impact on the sustainability of a peace agreement in Uganda should Joseph Kony not face charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and (ii) likelihood of a peace agreement being reached if ICC (A) investigations and (B) charges against Joseph Kony are not dropped.

Meg Munn: We hope that the Lord's Resistance Army will sign the Final Peace Agreement with the Ugandan government even if the International Criminal Court warrants are not suspended. The Government considers justice to be an essential part of a sustainable peace and it is vital that those responsible for the terrible crimes committed during the conflict in northern Uganda are held to account.

UN Peacebuilding Fund

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funding the UK has provided for the UN Peacebuilding Fund; what commitments the UK has entered into for further such funding; and what steps he has taken to encourage others to make contributions to the Fund.

Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK has committed 30 million over three years (2007-09) to the UN Peacebuilding Fund, of which 18 million has been disbursed so far. The UK regularly encourages other contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund as a member of the Peacebuilding Commission.

United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support is provided by the United Kingdom to the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.

Jim Murphy: The UK drove the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in 2005 and has since been a very active member of the PBC's Organisational Committee.
	The UK continues to provide full support to the PBC, working closely with partner countries and with countries on the PBC's agenda. Through our mission to the UN in New York and our Embassies and the Department for International Development (DFID) offices in Burundi and Sierra Leone, the UK has assisted with the development of the Strategic Peacebuilding Frameworks for both countries and are now engaged in supporting their monitoring and implementation. We are working closely with Brazil, chair of the Country Specific Meeting for Guinea-Bissau, the latter being the most recent country on the PBC's agenda.
	We, in particular through the UK Mission to the UN, also work closely with the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), which act as the secretariat to the PBC. DFID has provided US$1 million in support to the PBSO over two years.

USA: North Korea

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) members of his Department and  (c) UK representatives in Washington DC have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the United States Administration on the planned meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State, Christopher Hill and Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim Kye-gwan; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We continue to have regular contact with the US Administration and other participants in the Six-Party Talks, including in the week leading up to Assistant Secretary Hill's latest talks with Vice-Minister Kim Kye-gwan in Geneva that commenced on 13 March. The UK supports the ongoing Six-Party process and the goal of de-nuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. We welcome the leadership shown by the US, Japan, China and Republic of Korea, and encourage all parties to implement the agreements reached.

Uzbekistan: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of  (a) the human rights situation and  (b) the transparency of (i) law enforcement agencies and (ii) the court system in Uzbekistan; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We remain concerned about the overall human rights situation in Uzbekistan for reasons set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2007 Annual Human Rights report launched on 25 March 2008. Harassment of human rights defenders is common-place and we are disturbed by reports that Mutabar Tojibaeva has been moved from prison in Tashkent and that her family do not know her whereabouts. Restrictions remain on civil society, non-governmental organisations, media and religious organisations. Set against this, however, the Uzbek authorities have recently taken some positive steps which we welcome. These include the release in February of prominent human rights defenders, the ratification by the Uzbek Parliament in March of two international labour organisation conventions, including on the worst forms of child labour, and the resumption of prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross. We hope that this overall positive progress will continue.
	There is little transparency in the work of the law enforcement agencies. There is no system for systematically investigating all allegations of torture or corruption, although small numbers of police are punished. There is no independent watchdog to hold police and other law enforcement bodies to account. Transparency in the court system is a little better and most trials are open to the public. Uzbek law provides for closed trials to preserve state secrets or to protect victims and witnesses, but over the past 12 months our embassy in Tashkent has been unable to gain access to trials where these circumstances did not apply.
	In January new habeas corpus legislation came into force which transferred the authority to issue arrest warrants from the prosecutor to the courts. This has required comprehensive amendments to the criminal justice system, including to court and police procedures, which should increase transparency and protection of detainees' rights. We, and our EU partners, stand ready to assist the Uzbek authorities with support for its practical implementation.

JUSTICE

Bail: Housing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many units and what proportion of prison officers' accommodation will be used to provide accommodation under the bail accommodation support scheme, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There are no plans to use prison officer accommodation for the Bail Accommodation and Support Service. ClearSprings Ltd. provide the Bail Accommodation and Support Service using housing sourced from private landlords and some properties they themselves purchase.

ClearSprings Management

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 376-77W, on ClearSprings Management, in which towns accommodation for remand prisoners is needed; how many accommodation places for remand prisoners are needed in each town; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: We are continually assessing need for accommodation under BASS. I have instigated informing local MPs as well as police and probation where local schemes are being considered.

ClearSprings: Wales

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many hostels managed by ClearSprings have been opened in Wales in the last 12 months;
	(2)  whether there is a duty on ClearSprings to consult  (a) the local community,  (b) the police,  (c) the Probation Service and  (d) local authorities prior to opening a bail hostel in Wales;
	(3)  how many bail places were provided by ClearSprings in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08;
	(4)  how many bailees placed in hostels in Wales run by ClearSprings have been charged with a subsequent offence.

David Hanson: The bail accommodation and support service provided by ClearSprings does not provide hostels. Normal residential housing in the community, typically with three people sharing a house, is provided for defendants whom the courts have granted bail and for offenders released on home detention curfew. Nine houses have been made available in Wales in the last 12 months. ClearSprings are required to consult the local authority, the police and probation when acquiring properties for the service. There is no requirement for any other community consultation. The service commenced from 18 June 2007. In 2007-08, from that date up to 28 March, 481 people were bailed and 375 were released on Home Detention Curfew into the service across England and Wales. Reliable information on the number of people released into the service who are charged with a subsequent offence is not available.

Convictions: Disclosure of Information

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department plans to bring forward proposals to reform the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 on the disclosure of previous criminal convictions for ex-offenders; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The Government undertook a review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in 2002 and published the document 'Breaking the Circle' which set out proposals for reform of the Act. That paper made proposals for modifying disclosure periods for offences, and other changes to the operation of the Act. In 2003 the Government agreed that the proposals had merit and proposed to legislate when parliamentary time allowed. I am currently reviewing the position in the light of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, which was based on the recommendations of the Bichard report, and which makes changes to the disclosure situation for ex-offenders in many areas of employment.

Criminal Injuries Compensation: EC Nationals

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many citizens of other EU countries have  (a) made and  (b) received compensation in respect of criminal injuries compensation claims in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  the average payment was in respect of successful criminal injuries compensation claims made by citizens from other EU countries in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Anyone, of any nationality or domicile, who sustains an injury in Great Britain as a result of violent crime, is eligible to apply for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which administers the scheme, does not record information about an applicant's nationality since that is not a qualifying criterion for compensation. The Authority cannot, therefore, supply the information requested.

Deportation: Offenders

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made in securing agreements with third countries on the return of prisoners held in the UK.

David Hanson: In 2007, prisoner transfer agreements were concluded with Jamaica and with Pakistan. The agreement with Jamaica will come into force when amendments have been made to Jamaican law. The agreement with Pakistan was signed on 24 August 2007 and will enter into force as soon as we have confirmation that constitutional arrangements in Pakistan have been completed and instruments of ratification have been exchanged. We expect that the agreement will be in force soon.
	In addition to the agreements signed last year, an agreement with Ghana has recently been concluded and will be signed shortly. Negotiations with Nigeria and Vietnam are at an advanced stage.

Domestic Violence: Wales

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the delivery of domestic violence programmes in probation areas in Wales against delivery timetables in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Maria Eagle: National guidance to probation areas states that offenders sentenced to a community order with a requirement to attend an accredited domestic violence programme should commence the group work programme by the 12th week of the order. In some cases this timeline can be altered at the discretion of the offender manager. There is no timetable for offenders on licence.
	Offenders waiting for a place on a domestic violence programme are under the supervision of their offender manager. The offender manager will monitor the risk posed by the offender and manage it. Additionally the offender manager will normally prepare offenders for the programmes by carrying out set work. This can take between six and 12 weeks.

Driving Offences: Greater London

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were charged with a speeding offence in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Available information on the number of proceedings at magistrates courts for speed limit offences within the Metropolitan and city of London police force areas combined from 2001 to 2005 (latest available) is provided in the following table. 2006 data will be available later this year.
	Information on the number of people charged by the police is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for speed limit offences( 1) , London( 2) , 2001 to 2005 
			   Number of offences 
			 2001 9,968 
			 2002 8,971 
			 2003 9,184 
			 2004 9,487 
			 2005 11,589 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 and 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926byelaws made thereunder. (2) Metropolitan and city of London police combined.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Driving Offences: Speed Limits

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many drivers have been  (a) cautioned for and  (b) convicted of speeding in (i) St Ives constituency, (ii) Cornwall, (iii) the South West Region, (iv) Greater London and (v) England in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: Available information for 2005 (latest available) is provided in the following table. 2006 data will be available later this year.
	Information is available at police force area level only.
	
		
			  Written warnings( 1)  issued and findings of guilt at all courts for speeding offences( 2)  within Devon and Cornwall police force area, the south west region, Greater London( 3)  and England, 2005 
			  Number of offences 
			   Written warnings  Findings of guilt 
			 Devon and Cornwall police force area  5,200 
			 South west region 1,600 19,700 
			 Greater London(3) 0 10,700 
			 England 5,500 148,400 
			 (1 )Written warnings only. Formal cautions are not given for summary motoring offence of speeding. (2 )Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 and 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926byelaws made thereunder. (3 )Metropolitan and city of London police combined.  Notes: 1. 0 means less than 50.  2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Drugs: Misuse

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of  (a) prisons, ( b) community rehabilitation orders and  (c) drug treatment and testing orders in stopping drug taking by offenders.

David Hanson: There is evidence to support the effectiveness of certain treatments in reducing substance misuse. Treatments which are effective in addressing substance misuse include pharmacotherapies (e.g. methadone); psychological treatments; residential rehabilitation; 12-step treatment; and therapeutic communities(1).
	 (a) Success of prisons in stopping the drug taking of offenders
	The evaluations to date of drug treatment programmes in prisons in the UK suggest that these programmes can reduce re-offending(2).
	The best available measure of drug prevalence in prisons is the random mandatory drug testing (rMDT) programme, which routinely tests prisoners chosen at random for panel of drugs. The positive rate for rMDT has dropped from down from 24.4 per cent. in 1996-97 to 8.8 per cent. in 2006-07(3).
	NOMS has in place a comprehensive drug treatment framework, based on the National Treatment Agency's revised models of care, to address the different needs of drug-misusers in prison. The interventions available are designed to meet the needs of low, moderate and severe drug misusers irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity.
	 (b) Success of community rehabilitation orders in stopping the drug taking of offenders
	For offences committed on or after 4 April 2005, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced the community order which replaced all previous community sentences, including community rehabilitation orders (CROs) and drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs), for adult offenders. Under the Act, the court may impose a community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement. It is too early to have an effective assessment.
	 (c) Success of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) in stopping the drug taking of offenders
	Research(4) concluded that DTTOs can reduce spending on drugs and re-offending, although it was not possible to determine to what extent these changes were due to the DTTO or whether other factors also contributed.
	(1) Gossop, M. (2006). 'Treating drug misuse problems: evidence of effectiveness'. London. NTA
	(2) Ramsay, M. (ed) (2003). 'Prisoners' Drug Use and Treatment: Seven Research Studies'. Home Office Research Study 267. London: Home Office.
	Martin, C. and Player, E. (2000). 'Drug Treatment in Prison: An Evaluation of the PAR Treatment Programme'. Winchester: Waterside Press.
	(3) Drugs Strategy Team, NOMS Interventions and Substance-Abuse Unit
	(4) Hough, M., Clancy, A., McSweeney, T. and Turnbull, P. (2003). The impact of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders on Offending: two year reconviction results. Home Office Research Findings 184. London: Home Office.
	Turnbill, P., McSweeney, T., Webster, R., Edmunds., M and Hough, M (2000) Drug treatment and testing orders: Final Evaluation Report. Home Office Research Study 212. London: Home Office

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the delivery of drug and alcohol abuse programmes in probation areas in Wales against delivery timetables in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

David Hanson: National guidance to probation areas states that offenders sentenced to a community order with a requirement to attend the accredited offender substance abuse programme (OSAP) should commence the group work programme when their motivation and ability to complete the programme has been assessed. There is no set time given the nature of the lifestyle of those dependent upon alcohol or drugs.
	Offenders waiting for a place on OSAP are under the supervision of their offender manager and also may be subject to a drug rehabilitation requirement (DRR). The offender manager will monitor the risk posed by the offender and manage it. Additionally the offender manager will normally prepare offenders for the programmes by carrying out set work.

Electoral Register

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps the Government has taken to make voter registration more accessible.

Bridget Prentice: The Electoral Administration Act 2006 (EA Act) introduced a number of new provisions to make electoral registration more accessible and to enhance the accuracy of the electoral register. These have included:
	Imposing a new duty on electoral registration officers to take all necessary steps, such as sending the canvass form more than once, making house to house inquiries and promoting registration; and
	Increasing the time available for electoral registration to 11 days prior to polling day.
	The Office for National Statistics has recently published electoral registration rates for the UK and as of the 1 December 2007:
	The number of parliamentary electors grew by 307,669 to 45,082,854; and
	The number of local government electors grew by 463,340 to 45,920,503.
	In addition, Section 67 of the EA Act requires the Electoral Commission to set and monitor performance standards for electoral services and this will also provide more information about electoral registration and help share best practice.
	In light of the Slough Judgment concerning electoral fraud, the Government are currently considering the effectiveness of the new measures and are keeping electoral registration under review to identify initiatives that will further ensure the accuracy and integrity of the electoral register.

Fireworks: Prosecutions

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there were for firework-related offences in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006.

Maria Eagle: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to fireworks in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006 can be viewed in the table as follows.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to fireworks in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006( 1,2,3) 
			   Proceeded against 
			 2003 599 
			 2004 730 
			 2005 708 
			 2006 571 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) The data relate to the following Statutes: Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953 S.3 orders made under. Explosives Act 1875 Explosives Act 1923 and order in council and rules thereunder. Fireworks Act 1951. Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol, etc.) Act 1985 Section 2A(1). Fireworks Act 2003 S.11 (l),(2),(3)(a)(b),(4) Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 S.25(1)(a) and (b) Highways Act 1980 S.131(1)(d), S.161(2)(b) Metropolitan Police Act 1839 S.54(15) Fireworks Safety (Regulations) 1997 S.6(l) (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Court proceedings data held by RDSOffice for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice

Foreign Workers: Domestic Service

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employers of migrant domestic workers were  (a) prosecuted for and  (b) convicted of psychological abuse, physical abuse or sexual abuse of their employees in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: Information on the number of employers of migrant domestic workers who have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted for psychological abuse, physical abuse or sexual abuse of their employees is not held centrally.
	The Court Proceedings Database held by the Ministry of Justice does not separately identify either the category of defendant (i.e. employer etc.) the type of victim (i.e. migrant domestic worker), or the type of abuse.

Juries: Wales

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the cost of providing bilingual juries in Wales.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to Part 1 of our consultation document The Use of Bilingual (English and Welsh-speaking) Juries in Certain Criminal Trials in Wales, some options for bilingual juries would give rise to additional costs. A copy of the consultation document is on the CJS website at:
	http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/downloads/application/pdf/Welsh%20jury%20consultation%20-%20English.pdf
	We have identified potential resource implications for the Jury Central Summoning Bureau (JCSB) and in moving jurors further than usual, whether in hotel fees or travel costs. These costs have not been quantified. In the event that we were to decide in principle in favour of bilingual juries, full costings would be carried out.

Labour Party: Marketing

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2303W, on Labour Party: marketing, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Labour party's licence issued by the Office of Public Sector Information.

Michael Wills: The Labour party has a Click-Use license, which is listed on the Office of Public Sector Information's (OPSI) Click-Use website. The licence can be viewed on the OPSI website at:
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/index.htm
	The Click-Use licence is not a traditional licence in that applicants accept the terms of a set of licence terms online. It follows that there is not a specific licence naming the Labour party as a licensee. A list of Click-Use licence holders with the terms of the Click-Use licence can be viewed on the OPSI website.
	Copies of the relevant pages will also be deposited in the Library.

Legal Aid Scheme: Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will estimate expenditure on legal aid for defendants with drug addictions in 2007.

Maria Eagle: An individual applying for legal aid is not required to disclose whether he or she has a drug addiction. Moreover, an individual with a drug addiction could receive legal aid in matters not connected with the addiction. Therefore, it is not possible to provide reliable estimates of expenditure on legal aid for those with drug addictions.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will answer the letter of 15 January 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Miss E. A. Price.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	A reply was issued to the hon. Member on 30 January 2008.

National Identity

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effect of devolving further powers to local communities on attitudes towards British citizenship and national identity;
	(2)  when his Department plans to take forward the proposals in the report of Lord Goldsmith's Citizenship Review;
	(3)  what consideration he has given to the report of the recommendation in Lord Goldsmith's Citizenship Review on a national day focused on ideas about shared citizenship.

Michael Wills: A robust sense of citizenship and national identity is reinforced by a democracy which is healthy and engages citizens at all levels. The Government believe that devolving power to Parliament, to citizens and to local communities, as included in the Governance of Britain Green Paper and the 2006 Local Government White Paper, will help revitalise our democracy.
	The Government welcome Lord Goldsmith's Review of Citizenship and its contribution to the current debate about legal and social rights and responsibilities.
	We have already announced many measures as part of the earned citizenship document which are consonant with Lord Goldsmith's proposals on acquiring citizenship and we are also interested in his thoughts on supporting and encouraging volunteering, which we will study closely.

Prison Officers: Housing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether prison officers' accommodation will be sold in order to avoid the costs that would be incurred in upgrading properties to meet the 2010 Decent Housing standard.

David Hanson: No.

Prison Service: Location

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has conducted a sustainability appraisal in the light of the recent relocation announcements regarding the Prison Service.

Maria Eagle: It is unclear from the question which relocation announcement the hon. Member refers to. However, since 1999 the Prison Service has actively pursued the Government's environmental and sustainability agenda.
	Details of progress made by the Service in addressing its commitments, aims and targets regarding sustainable development are contained in its recently published Annual Sustainable Development Report 2006-07 and which can be found on its website:
	www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk

Prisons: MRSA

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of  (a) MRSA and  (b) clostridium difficile were recorded in each prison in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The Prison Service's Performance Standard, Health Services for Prisoners (May 2004), requires every prison establishment to have in place effective arrangements for the prevention, control and management of communicable diseases. These must include arrangements for the notification of all incidents of notifiable disease, such as tuberculosis, to the local Health Protection Agency's Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (CCDC) and an action plan in the event of an outbreak of a communicable disease.
	Upon the detection of any infection in a prison establishment, appropriate health care and infection control procedures should be instituted in partnership with infection control teams in primary care trusts and health protection units.

Probation: Foreigners

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether there are any restrictions on the ability of probation service staff to recommend supervision of foreign nationals in Wales where interpreters would be required.

Maria Eagle: There is no policy restriction on the ability of probation staff to recommend supervision, delivered with the assistance of an interpreter, for foreign national offenders in Wales. As with any other offender, a recommendation would be based on the individual's risks, particular needs, eligibility and suitability.

Probation: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many qualified probation officers were employed in Wales on  (a) 31 December 1997 and  (b) 31 December 2007.

Maria Eagle: Information is not available for the period requested. Data collected prior to April 2003 were collated by a different source and were incomplete in some categories and therefore are not directly comparable with the figures collected since that time.
	The following table shows the staff in post in probation officer grades in Wales from 2003 onwards. It also shows the number of trainee probation officers at the same period.
	
		
			   2003( 1)  2004( 1)  2005( 1)  2006( 1)  2007( 2) 
			  Staff in post  PO  TPO  PO  TPO  PO  TPO  PO  TPO  PO  TPO 
			 Dyfed Powys 46.30 15.00 49.10 15.00 55.70 18.00 49.80 16.00 47.80 16.00 
			 Gwent 68.10 25.00 67.30 33.00 65.30 23.00 92.10 29.00 92.40 29.00 
			 North Wales 67.10 26.00 84.20 21.00 88.30 24.00 90.10 20.00 87.30 19.00 
			 South Wales 157.60 83.00 195.90 48.00 215.10 44.00 210.40 41.00 207.50 9.00 
			 Total 339.10 149.00 396.50 117.00 424.40 109.00 442.40 106.00 435.00 73.00 
			 NPS 6271.50 1818.20 6584.90 1774.00 6894.40 1386.70 7209.55 1134.09 7007.75 1031.20 
			 (1) Figures provided are as at 31 December. (2) Figures provided are as at 30 June and are about to be published.

Probation: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation staff managers were employed in Wales on  (a) 31 December 1997 and  (b) 31 December 1998.

Maria Eagle: Information is not available for the period requested. Data collected prior to April 2003 were collated by a different source and were incomplete in some categories and therefore are not directly comparable with the figures collected since that time.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by  (a) his Department and its predecessor and  (b) its agencies in each of the last nine years.

Maria Eagle: There is no record of any contracts awarded to Rackspace by the Department, its predecessor or agencies in the last nine years.

Residence Orders

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many residence orders were awarded to  (a) men and  (b) women in each year for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information is available on the overall number of residence orders made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and is published annually in judicial statistics, but the courts in England and Wales do not collect information about who the order is made in favour of from each case record.
	A study entitled Residence and Contact Disputes in Court Volume 1 by Professor Carol Smart and others, University of Leeds (DCA Research Series 6/03) published September 2003, found the following:
	Outcomes where mothers applied for residence or for residence and/or contact:
	
		
			  Outcome  Percentage (number = 120) 
			 Residence to mother 42 
			 Shared residence 5 
			 Contact only to mother 3 
			 No order/withdrawn 19 
			 Dismissed 10 
			 Residence to respondent/other 3 
			 Residence to respondent plus contact to mother 3 
			 Other 15 
			 Total 100 
		
	
	Outcomes where fathers applied for residence or for residence and/or contact:
	
		
			  Outcome  Percentage (number = 83) 
			 Resident to father 36 
			 Shared residence 7 
			 Contact only to father 11 
			 No order/withdrawn 23 
			 Dismissed 4 
			 Residence to respondent or other 3.5 
			 Residence to respondent plus contact to father 12 
			 Other 3.5 
			 Total 100 
		
	
	The sample size is small compared to the overall numbers of residence orders made hi all types of court in England and Wales and the sample was taken from three county courts so the percentages above may not give an accurate reflection of all residence orders made in all levels of court.
	The overall number of residence orders made for the years 2002-06 is set out as follows.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002 30,006 
			 2003 31,996 
			 2004 31,878 
			 2005 26,523 
			 2006 30,035

Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  when he will publish the Government's action plan on the recommendations from the inquests into Gareth Myatt and Adam Rickwood;
	(2)  what consultation there has been with the families of Adam Rickwood and Gareth Myatt about the Government's action plan on the recommendations from the inquests into the boys' deaths.

David Hanson: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) on 27 March 2008,  Official Report, column 22WS.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) met both families on 18 October to discuss their concerns following the inquests. In drawing up the action plan we have taken full account of the families' concerns.

Voting Behaviour

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps the Government has taken to address negative voting trends.

Bridget Prentice: The Government are committed to looking at ways in which the electoral process can be made more convenient and responsive to the overall needs of the electorate. As part of this commitment, we have and will continue to look at measures which can be introduced to encourage eligible persons to vote at elections.
	Under the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (EA Act), we introduced a number of measures aimed at increasing voter turnout, including a requirement for local electoral officers to take appropriate steps to increase participation in the electoral process in their areas, the costs of which may be reimbursed by the Secretary of State.
	The EA Act also introduced a new duty requiring electoral registration officers to take all necessary steps to register electors, including sending the canvass form more than once, making house to house enquiries and inspecting records they are permitted to inspect. And this new duty is making a difference to the levels of registration, as confirmed by the Office for National Statistics when they recently published electoral registration rates for the UK. As of the 1 December 2007:
	The number of parliamentary electors increased by 307,669 to 45,082,854; and
	The number of local government electors increased by 463,340 to 45,920,503
	Following our commitment in the Governance of Britain Green Paper, we will also be consulting shortly on the merits of moving voting to the weekend for general, European and local elections. This will include consideration as to whether this would improve voter participation at elections.
	It is important that we capture young people's interest at an early age and build their understanding of democratic and political processes so that they take an active part in society, as they become adults and citizens. My Department has undertaken a number of projects to encourage participation and engagement among young people. This includes setting up a Youth Citizenship Commission which will consider how to increase young people's participation in politics.

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times restrictive physical interventions were used in each  (a) young offender institution and  (b) secure children's home in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Young adults are not placed in secure children's homes. The Youth Justice Board began collecting data against a common definition of restraint across the under-18 secure estate in April 2007. The following table shows the total number of restrictive physical interventions between 1 April 2007 and 31 January 2008 in each under-18 young offender institution and secure children's home. Information on restraints of young adults in senior young offender institutions is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Establishment type  Number of restrictive physical interventions 
			  Secure Children ' s Homes  
			 Aldine House 20 
			 Atkinson Unit 91 
			 Aycliffe 174 
			 Barton Moss 104 
			 Clayfields 86 
			 Eastmoor 393 
			 Gladstone House 86 
			 Hillside Secure Centre 28 
			 Kyloe House 15 
			 Lincolnshire Secure Children's Home 154 
			 Orchard Lodge 154 
			 Red Bank 212 
			 Sutton Place 63 
			 Swanick Lodge 40 
			 Vinney Green 63 
			   
			  Young Offender Institutions  
			 Ashfield 368 
			 PARC 52 
			 Brinsford 105 
			 Castington 164 
			 Feltham 273 
			 Hindley 297 
			 Huntercombe 338 
			 Lancaster Farms 293 
			 Stoke Heath 120 
			 Thorn Cross 0 
			 Warren Hill 192 
			 Werrington 226 
			 Wetherby 318 
			 Cookham Wood 17 
			 Downview 22 
			 Eastwood Park 27 
			 Foston Hall 51 
			 New Hall 58 
			  Source: Data supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative systems

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the sum of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's exposure in respect of the al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia was on  (a) 31 December 1989,  (b) 31 December 1994,  (c) 31 December 1999,  (d) 31 March 2005 and  (e) 12 September 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: ECGD exposure as at the requested dates is set out as follows.
	
		
			million 
			 31 December 1989 450 
			 31 December 1994 750 
			 31 December 1999 l,000 
			 31 March 2005 750 
			 12 September 2006 750

Business: Bermuda

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assistance his Department provides to Bermudan businesses wishing to  (a) invest in the United Kingdom and  (b) take part in joint ventures with UK companies; how much was made available for these purposes in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has the lead role within Government for delivering trade development and inward investment services for business. It brings together the work of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on international trade and investment.
	UKTI and its network of partner agencies across the UK welcome, and are available to assist, foreign direct investment (FDI) projects seeking to locate in the UK from all over the world including Bermuda. However we dedicate specific resource to priority markets to maximise taxpayers' investment and Bermuda is not one of these.

Business: Cyprus

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assistance his Department provides to Cypriot businesses wishing to  (a) invest in the United Kingdom and  (b) take part in joint ventures with UK companies; how much was made available for these purposes in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has the lead role within Government for delivering trade development and inward investment services for business. It brings together the work of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on international trade and investment.
	UKTI and its network of partner agencies across the UK welcome, and are available to assist, foreign direct investment (FDI) projects seeking to locate in the UK from all over the world including Cyprus. However we dedicate specific resources to priority markets, in order to maximise taxpayers' investment and Cyprus is not one of these.

Capita

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will provide a geographical breakdown of the 46,000 claims identified by Capita to his Department's Yorkshire monitoring committee as not having made services claims for mining industrial diseases.

Malcolm Wicks: I am unsure to what the figure of 46,000 relates. Approximately 60,000 vibration white finger claimants were eligible to claim services on the basis of their medical staging for general damages but, for whatever reason, did not do so.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Kingsnorth

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the annual carbon dioxide emissions from the proposed coal-fired power station in Kingsnorth, Kent.

Malcolm Wicks: The applicant estimates that if the proposed station was generating some 12 TWh of electricity per annum it would produce some 8.6 MTe of CO2. However the amount of annual carbon dioxide emissions depends on the actual amount of electricity generated.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Kingsnorth

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the environmental impact of a coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent.

Malcolm Wicks: The Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role in deciding E.ON's application for his consent to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth. It would therefore be improper for him to express a view on whether he is in favour or against the proposal prior to taking a fully considered decision.

Coal: Concessions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many residents in Bassetlaw constituency are in receipt of concessionary coal.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 31 March 2008
	 There are currently 1,230 Bassetlaw residents who receive concessionary coal via the Department.

Coal: Mining

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will place in the Library a copy of the note taken of the meeting of 20 March 2008 between Ministers, officials and the Union of Democratic Mineworkers on the future of the coal industry.

Malcolm Wicks: On 19 March 2008, I met my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Paddy Tipping) and representatives of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers to hear their views about recent events in connection with the possible restart of Harworth Colliery. Information relating to internal meetings, discussions and advice is not disclosed, as to do so, could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Energy: Meters

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will publish the report he commissioned from Mott McDonald on smart meters; with which organisations he has discussed the report; and what the timetable is for the introduction of such meters.

Malcolm Wicks: My Department is currently working up its impact assessment on smart metering, which will take account of the analysis by Mott MacDonald, as well as that of a number of other organisations. The Mott MacDonald report, with other analysis, will be published later this month, together with the Government's impact assessment and their response to the metering and billing consultation. As part of this process, my Department has held discussions with a range of interested parties, including gas and electricity suppliers, meter owners and service providers, Ofgem and Energywatch. The Government will set out their views on the next steps on smart metering shortly.

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what  (a) funding and  (b) other resources his Department plans to commit to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

Malcolm Wicks: There are no plans  (a) to commit funds other than Travel and Subsistence  (b) resources other than that necessarily involved in our membership of the GNEP Steering and Ministerial committees. Any future funding or resource commitment would be subject to further justification.
	UK membership of GNEP allows us to help shape this international programme and help develop and share international best practice. It also helps position UK organisations to compete for international contracts and take part in collaborations that benefit their missions.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much has been paid in compensation for  (a) hearing loss,  (b) vibration white finger and  (c) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, broken down by constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department publishes the data for Vibration White Finger and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease claims on our webpage:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/coal-health//statistics/constituency/page20839.html
	These statistics are updated monthly and include the information requested.
	A table containing the figures for hearing loss claims has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many claims for  (a) vibration white finger and  (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have not been fully settled, broken down by constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department publishes data for vibration white finger and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims on our webpage:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/coal-health/statistics/constituency/page20839.html.
	These statistics are updated monthly and include the information requested.

Lighting: Billing

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the role of the unmetered supply operator (UMSO) is in calculating local authority bills for street lighting; and if he will take steps to ensure that the charging policy of the UMSO does not inhibit the development by local authorities of small-scale trials of low-energy street lighting technologies.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Each unmetered supply operator (in this context, the electricity distributor or DNO) is obliged to prepare a use of system charging methodology approved by Ofgem which is designed to achieve a number of relevant objectives as set out in their licence. These include an obligation to review the Use of System charging methodology at least once a year and have a methodology that takes account of developments in the licensee's distribution business.
	Ofgem would expect a DNO to ensure that its methodology takes account of developments in its distribution business and DNOs should be made aware of the results of any small scale trials of low-energy street lighting which may result in changes to a local authority's inventory. It is for the DNO and local authorities concerned to work together and a DNO to assess whether or not, as a result of such trials, a change is required to its Use of System methodology or Use of System charges. This would be a matter that the DNO would generally discuss with Ofgem.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Finance

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the budget for the low carbon building programme was in 2007-08; and what proportion of this budget has been spent.

Malcolm Wicks: The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) phase 1 has a 36 million budget over three years. We did not set yearly allocations. For the 2007-08 tax year we have currently spent 5.1 million, including management fees.
	Phase 2 of the programme has a 50 million budget over three years and we did not set yearly allocations. From April 2007 to the end of February 2008 we spent 1.3 million, including management fees. The total of grants allocated on phase 2 in this period was 7.4 million.
	Recent changes to LCBP and planning requirements should help to boost uptake. All technologies under LCBP phase 2 will now receive 50 per cent. grant funding. This will make it a more affordable option and enable more organisations to take part. We have also extended the length of time householders have to apply for grants through to June 2010 for the remaining 10 million funds. In addition, from 6 April 2008 we will be relaxing the planning rules to make it easier for householders to install microgeneration technologies.

Metering: Finance

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the provision of smart meters on a national basis, broken down by main budget heading.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are currently working up their impact assessment of smart metering, and will publish that assessment later this month, together with the Government's response to the metering and billing consultation. The assessment will include a detailed examination of costs and benefits.

Metering: Finance

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received from companies associated with smart-meter production or sales.

Malcolm Wicks: In the course of developing its impact assessment on smart metering, my Department has been in discussion with a range of interested parties about the costs and benefits of smart metering. My Department has received written representations as part of this process, as well as in response to the metering and billing consultation.

Mining: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the timetable is for the transfer of information to the Law Society on claimants under the Miners' Compensation Claim scheme as piloted in Rother Valley.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has already provided some information to the Legal Complaints Service (LCS). This will enable LCS to plan the next stages of their campaign which, I understand, is planned for autumn 2008. The Department will continue to work with LCS to ensure they have the information they require.

Mining: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many requests from the Serious Fraud Office he has acceded to for information on mining compensation.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department is co-operating fully with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)however, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on ongoing inquiries.
	My statement in December 2005 reported that, although their investigations are continuing, the SFO were not now focusing on any suspected fraud against the Department.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Foreign Workers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 251W, on Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: foreign workers, what the nationalities were of the 12 foreign nationals employed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority since its establishment.

Malcolm Wicks: The nationalities of the 12 foreign nationals who have been employed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority since its establishment are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 USA 2 
			 Irish 2 
			 South African 2 
			 Canadian 1 
			 French 1 
			 German 1 
			 Greek 1 
			 Italian 1 
			 Australian 1

Nuclear Power Stations: Costs

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2008, to the hon. Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins),  Official Report, columns 1632-3W, on nuclear power stations: costs, what discount rate was assumed in carrying out the cost-benefit analysis.

Malcolm Wicks: The cost benefit analysis assumed in the central case a post tax real discount rate of 10 per cent. There were also low and high sensitivity cases in which rates of 7 per cent. and 12 per cent. respectively were used.
	The full analysis can be found at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39525.pdf

Nuclear Power: Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how the Government plans to strengthen the capacities of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Nuclear Security Fund, as indicated at paragraph 4.21 of the National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, Cm 7291.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK is a contributor to the Nuclear Security Fund (NSF) and provides a cost free UK expert to the fund. The UK seeks to further strengthen delivery mechanisms within the NSF by improving internal IAEA efficiency. We intend to do this by providing continuing assessment and feedback on project progress, exploring means to overcome difficulties and by encouraging the agency to streamline its operations. We will seek to feed our experience of working with the NSF into the current '2020 Review' of the Agency's operations.

Oil

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment the Government has made of the likely year of peak global oil production; what contingency plans the Government has made should global oil supplies peak sooner than International Energy Agency predictions; and what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the UK economy of the passing of peak production.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The Government's assessment is that the global oil (and gas) reserves are sufficient to sustain economic growth for the foreseeable future. This is consistent with the assessment made by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its 2007 World Energy Outlook (WEO).
	However, the Government recognise the need for further investment both in upstream and downstream oil in order for production to keep pace with the growing global oil demand.
	The Government constantly monitor risks to the UK economy, including from energy-related developments, as detailed in the Energy White Paper (May 2007) and the Long-term Opportunities and Challenges for the UK (November 2006). In addition, the UK's policies, as outlined in the Energy White Paper, in promoting open and competitive markets, increasing energy efficiency, investing in low carbon technologies and the use of alternative energy sources such as renewables will reduce the risks to the UK of any potential future declines in global oil and gas production.
	The Government are also aware of a wide range of academic and industry studies which look at future world oil supplies, including the peak oil phenomenon, and meets regularly with experts to discuss this and other oil market issues.

Post Offices: Closures

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to his answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 972, that in certain circumstances the Chairman of the Post Office would himself review cases and take closure decisions, what the procedure is by which this process can be engaged in respect of the proposed closure of Laverstock Post Office on 1 April.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The review process for closure decisions after public consultation is instigated by Postwatch where it considers that Post Office Ltd. has not given due consideration to material evidence received during the public consultation or that the proposal for the branch does not meet the Government's policy requirements.
	A four-stage process provides for review on an individual case basis. Where Post Office Ltd. and Postwatch are unable to reach an agreed way forward after the first three stages, a review of the closure decision is then undertaken by the chairman of Royal Mail Group. I understand that in the case of Laverstock, discussions about the closure did not proceed beyond the first stage of the review process as Postwatch were satisfied at that stage that all relevant factors had been duly considered by Post Office Ltd. in reaching their decision.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Adam Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department has spent on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2006-07 and  (d) 2007-08.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The 2007 Energy White Paper sets out the Government's policy to promote energy innovation in renewable technologies. The Government are supporting a wide range of technology push measures to stimulate research and development and demonstration through the Research Councils, Technology Strategy Board, Energy Technologies Institute (all DIUS funded) and the Environmental Transformation Fund (DEFRA and BERR funded).
	These bodies work closely together to ensure that funding activities are complementary and together effectively supports a portfolio of technologies, including renewables such as wind, wave and tidal, microgeneration and photovoltaics and bioenergy.
	In addition market pull comes by providing the market mechanisms and incentives such as the renewables obligation (RO). By 2010 the RO along with exemption from the climate change levy will provide around 1 billion per year in support to the renewables industry. We are introducing measures to allow banding of the RO. This will provide the generation industry with greater incentive to develop and deploy those technologies which are currently further from commercial deployment.

Small Businesses

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many new businesses were registered in  (a) St. Albans and  (b) England in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: VAT registration data provide the only accurate indicator of the level of business start-up activity.
	The number of new VAT registrations in St. Albans and England are shown in the following table for 2002 to 2006, alongside data for the stock of all VAT registered businesses. Data for registrations in 2007 will be available in autumn 2008.
	
		
			  Number of VAT registrations and stock of VAT  registered businesses in St. Albans and England 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Registrations   
			 St. Albans 540 655 620 620 660  
			 England 155,770 168,250 160,565 158,995 159,315  
			
			  Stock at start of year   
			 St. Albans 5,715 5,725 5,850 5,940 6,045 6,160 
			 England 1,521,285 1,541,155 1,574,270 1,602,230 1,635,845 1,670,500 
			  Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2006, available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat 
		
	
	Although the number of new registrations has fluctuated over the period, the total number of VAT registered businesses in St. Albans has increased annually, from 5,715 at the start of 2002 to 6,160 at the start of 2007, an increase of 445 (8 per cent.). For England, in comparison, the total number of VAT registered businesses has increased from 1.52 million to 1.67 million, an increase of 149,000 (10 per cent.).
	VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was 60,000 at the start of 2006. Only 1.9 million out of 4.5 million UK enterprises (43 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2006.

Unfair Practices

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many investigations the Office of Fair Trading is conducting into UK markets.

Gareth Thomas: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) publishes an annual plan providing an overview of its current and planned work. The OFT recently concluded a public consultation on its draft annual plan for 2008-09, a copy of which can be found on the OFT website at http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2007/163-07. A copy of the annual plan for 2007-08 and further information about the work of the OFT can be found at the OFT at work section of the OFT's website at
	http://www.oft.gov.uk/oft_at_work/
	The OFT also publishes an annual report providing detailed information about the work it has undertaken during that year. The 2006-07 annual report can be found on the OFT website at
	http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/publications/corporate/annual-report/annual-report-2006.

Utilities: Fees and Charges

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to prevent utility providers charging those who do not pay charges by direct debit more than those who do.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 March 2008
	In respect of gas and electricity supply, in broad terms, the rebate given to customers paying by direct debit, rather than standard credit or prepayment, reflects the lower cost of serving direct debit customers. However, Ofgem is currently conducting a probe into the energy market, the results of which will be published shortly. If the evidence shows that prepayment meter users are treated less favourably than other customers in respect of their charges for energy, then we will look to Ofgem and the energy suppliers to come forward with proposals to reduce any disadvantage. If sufficient progress is not made by winter 2008-09, the Secretary of State is prepared to use his existing statutory powers with a view to reducing the differential between prepayment and other forms of payment.
	For telecoms, Ofcom is currently consulting on introducing new guidance for communications providers who levy additional charges on consumers, such as for not paying bills by direct debit. This will spell out Ofcom's view of the law and what providers have to do to meet their obligations under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 to ensure that additional charges are fair and transparent. Once the guidance has been finalised Ofcom is proposing to give providers three months to comply. Ofcom will then start an enforcement programme.

Wind Power: Noise

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 559-60W, on wind power: noise, when he expects installation and product standards for micro wind turbines to be published.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 February 2008
	 Under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) installation and product standards for micro wind, which address noise issues, will be published shortly. More information on development of the standards is available on the MCS website:
	www.microgeneration.org

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people attended hospital accident and emergency departments in  (a) Essex,  (b) Basildon Hospital NHS Trust and  (c) Southend Hospital NHS Trust in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not held in the format requested. Information is collected on attendances at accident and emergency (A and E) departments, minor injury units and walk-in centres at trust level, and can be found in the following table for Essex national health service trusts. The data currently available for 2007-08 cover only the first three quarters of the year (April to December 2007).
	
		
			  Attendances at A and E departments, minor injury units and walk in centres, NHS organisations in England 2004-05 to quarter three 2007-08 
			  Organisation  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 (Q1  -Q3) 
			 Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 99, 893 101,342 104,685 74,076 
			 Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust 97,230 99,355 95,470 60,500 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 70,291 72,212 73,351 56,207 
			 Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 82,888 85,806 86,384 66,923 
			 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 76,189 80,718 81,230 64,746 
			  Note:  Data for 2007-8 are for quarter one to quarter three.  Source: Department of Health dataset QMAE.

Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to reviewing the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 to require the listing of all ingredients in drinks with alcohol.

Dawn Primarolo: A proposal made by the European Commission (EC) in January 2008 for a new food information regulation would introduce ingredient labelling on alcoholic drinks.
	There would be an exception for wine, beer and spirits, pending a review by the EC with a proposal to produce a report to determine the labelling of these categories of drinks after five years of the entry into force of the regulations.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for taking forward UK negotiations and has issued a public consultation on the proposal, further information is on the FSA website at:
	www.food.gov.uk/consultations/ukwideconsults/2008/infoprovision.
	The FSA's consultation on the proposal requests comments and views on these issues.

Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations govern the labelling of alcohol to display suitability for vegans and vegetarians.

Dawn Primarolo: There is no definition in law for the use of the terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' either at United Kingdom, or European level. There are no current rules that make display of this information mandatory and any labelling of food or drink products as 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' is voluntary. Consumers are protected by general legal provisions outlawing false or misleading labelling in UK legislation.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the expenditure by the NHS on treatment of illnesses related to alcohol abuse in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: We estimate that alcohol abuse costs the national health service around 1.7 billion each year, with an estimated 217 million spent each year on specialist treatment for alcohol dependence. Additional funding of 15 million has been included within primary care trust general allocations from 2007-08 to improve alcohol interventions.

Baby Care Units

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new-born babies required specialist cots and incubators in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect the information requested. The following table details the number of births recorded in the last 10 years that required specialist care, level 2 intensive care and level 1 intensive care. It is likely that each of these births would have required a specialist cot or incubator but it should be taken as an approximate number of those pieces of equipment actually used.
	
		
			  Count of births by neonatal level of care for the period 1997-98 to 2006-07 in national health service hospitals in England 
			   Finished consultant birth episodes 
			  Neonatal level of care description  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04  2002-03  2001-02  2000-01  1999-2000  1998-99  1997-98 
			 Special care 33,069 31,879 30,848 28,811 28,743 28,510 28,727 31,397 36,102 36,117 
			 Level 2 intensive care (high dependency intensive care) 3,835 4,051 4,051 4,389 4,415 4,233 4,336 4,675 4,741 4,458 
			 Level 1 intensive care (maximal intensive care 6,272 6,173 5,459 5,110 5,049 6,063 5,636 6,061 7,133 6,862 
			 Total 43,176 42,103 40,358 38,310 38,207 38,806 38,699 42,133 47,976 47,437

Bone Diseases

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations he has received on behalf of people with ankylosing spondylitis in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people in England who had been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis broken down by  (a) strategic health authority and  (b) primary care trust area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The Department published the Musculoskeletal Framework in July 2006 in which we estimated that about 200,000 people in the United Kingdom were living with ankylosing spondylitis. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have estimated a prevalence of 0.15 per cent. and an annual incidence of 6.9 per 100,000 population. A more detailed breakdown of these figures has not been produced.
	The Department has received recent representations on the cost of providing treatment for those with ankylosing spondylitis and the availability of drugs, especially the anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs (anti-TNF).

Brain Cancer

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in increasing survival rates for  (a) children and  (b) adults with brain cancer in the last five years.

Ann Keen: Of the adult patients (over 15 years) diagnosed with brain cancer between 1998 and 2003, 12.3 per cent. of men and 16.2 per cent. of women survived for at least five years. This compares with five-year survival rates of 12.5 per cent. for men and 15.3 per cent. for women diagnosed between 1996 and 1999.
	Analysis of survival rates among children with brain cancer undertaken in 1999 showed that significant progress has been made on survival rates since the 1960s. This analysis showed that 68 per cent. of children diagnosed with cancer of the brain and central nervous system in the mid-1990s survived for at least five years compared with 37 per cent. in the 1960s.

Caesarean Sections

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reasons for elective births by Caesarean-section in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: In 2004, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a guideline on caesarean section (CS) in which it addressed planned (elective) caesarean sections. It found a number of reasons why a planned CS may take place. Some of them include breech presentations, multiple pregnancies and conditions such as placenta praevia. In addition, a CS may have also been undertaken at the request of the women.
	The NICE guidelines recommend that the doctor or midwife should discuss the benefits and risks of a CS compared with a normal birth. If a CS has been requested by the women a note will be taken, although a CS will not be automatically agreed. If it has been requested because of a fear of giving birth, an opportunity to discuss the fears with a counsellor should be offered.
	Ultimately, it is clinical decision that a CS would be of benefit to the mother and/or baby.

Cancer: Queen's Hospital Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated for cancer at the Queen's Hospital, Romford in 2007.

Ann Keen: The information is not held in the format requested, as data are not collected at individual hospital level. The information is collected as finished consultant episodes (FCEs) at trust level, which are defined as a period of admitted care under one consultant within one health care provider.
	The number of FCEs with a primary diagnosis of cancer and neoplasms for Barking, Havering and Redbridge National Health Service Trust, of which Queen's Hospital is a part, was 11,072 for the year 2006-07. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. In addition, cancer treatments could take place in other settings, for example a patient could be classed as a 'regular attender' or these treatments may occur in outpatients.

Cancer: Research

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research and development schemes into new cancer treatments his Department sponsors; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department funds national health service research and development through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR research programmes support high quality research of relevance and in areas of high priority to patients and the NHS and are open to researchers investigating new cancer treatments.
	The NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme focuses specifically on the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of health care treatments and tests for those who plan, provide or receive care in the NHS and is funding a range of research on cancer treatments. In addition, the NIHR National Cancer Research Network provides NHS support for trials and other well designed cancer studies.
	In partnership with Cancer Research UK, the NIHR is funding 15 experimental cancer medicine centres across England. A further two centres are in development. This initiative brings together laboratory and clinical patient-based research to speed up the development of new therapies by evaluating novel drugs and biomarkers, thus individualising patient treatment.
	The Department works in close partnership with United Kingdom cancer research funders through the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). NCRI initiatives such as the NCRI Prostate Cancer Collaborativesto which the Department contributes over half of the total 11.6 million fundingare discovering and developing new cancer treatments.
	The Department does not normally take on the role of sponsor under the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004.

Cancer: Screening

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in the London borough of Havering received  (a) breast,  (b) cervical and  (c) bowel screenings in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The requested information is collected by national health service organisation and not by local borough. Information on breast and cervical screening for Havering Primary Care Trust (PCT) can be found in the following table. There are currently no bowel cancer screening data being collected.
	Roll-out of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme began in April 2006. The first invitations were sent out in July 2006, and full national roll-out is expected by December 2009.
	
		
			  Breast screening programme: coverage of women aged 53  to  64 (target age group) for England and specified organisations, at 31 March 2003 to 2007 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Havering PCT  
			 Eligible Population(1) 17,727 17,704 17,784 17,990 18,273 
			 Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 14,195 14,112 14,073 14,076 13,514 
			 Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (percentage) 80.1 79.7 79.1 78.2 74.0 
			 (1) This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible.  Notes: 1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years. Coverage of the screening programme is currently best assessed using the 53 to 64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50th and 53rd birthdays. 2. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50 to 64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65 to 70 in April 2001. The last unit began inviting women aged 65 to 70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09.  Source: KC63 The Information Centre for health and social care 
		
	
	
		
			  Cervical screening programme: coverage of women aged 25 to 64 (target age group) for specified organisations, 31 March 2003 to 2007 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Havering PCT  
			 Eligible population(1) 59,497 59,804 60,137 60,992 61,331 
			 Women screened (less than 5 years since last adequate test) 49,072 48,689 48,576 48,039 48,506 
			 Coverage (less than 5 yrs since last adequate test) (percentage) 82.5 81.4 80.8 78.8 79.1 
			 (1) This is the number of women in the resident population less those with recall ceased for clinical reasons.  Note: National policy for the cervical screening programme is that eligible women aged 25 to 64 should be screened every three or five years (women aged 25 to 49 are screened every three years, those aged 50 to 64 every five years).  Source: KC53 Parts A2 and A3, The Information Centre for health and social care

Cancer: West Midlands

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on treating  (a) men and  (b) women with cancer in hospitals in the west midlands in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
	The Department centrally collects disease level expenditure estimates from primary care trusts (PCTs) as part of programme budgeting returns. The following table shows estimated aggregate expenditure on cancer for PCTs in the west midlands region from 2003-04 to 2006-07.
	
		
			
			  Financial year  Aggregated expenditure 
			 2003-04 306,112,000 
			 2004-05 358,382,000 
			 2005-06 400,604,000 
			 2006-07 451,665,000 
			  Notes: 1. 2003-04 data are net expenditure. 2. 2004-05 to 2006-07 data are net expenditure but also take account of lead/host commissioner arrangements. 3. 2006-07 data may not be comparable with previous years due to changes in data definitions.

Care Homes: Elderly

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to repeal the liable relatives rules in respect of care home financing for elderly patients; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Provisions for the repeal of the liable relatives rule are contained in clause 139 and schedule 13 of the Health and Social Care Bill which is currently making its way through Parliament. Subject to the Bill receiving parliamentary approval, we intend to repeal the rule later this year.

Childbirth: Foreigners

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-UK residents from  (a) other EU and  (b) other countries gave birth in hospitals in England in each of the last five years, broken down by trust.

Dawn Primarolo: These data are not collected centrally.

Chiropody

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the merits of the development of a national service framework for podiatry services;
	(2)  what podiatry services are provided free at the point of delivery; and for which groups such services are provided;
	(3)  under what circumstances podiatry services are provided by  (a) a foot health practitioner and  (b) a regulated chiropodist or podiatrist.

Ann Keen: No assessment has been carried out centrally. Guidance for access to foot care services is included in the national service frameworks for older people, diabetes, and long-term conditions, and the White Paper Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services.
	All national health service podiatry services are provided free of charge on the basis of assessed clinical need. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders, including practice based commissioners, local government and the public to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of podiatry services.
	A foot health practitioner can only provide podiatry services if they are a registered podiatrist. The titles podiatrist and chiropodist are protected by law. Anyone using these titles must be registered with the Health Professions Council. It is also an offence to imply that someone is one of these professions, for example by stating that they provide podiatry services when they are not on the register.

Chlamydia: Screening

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 259W, on chlamydia screening, when his Department expects to announce which primary care trusts have met their targets for screening 15 per cent. of their 15 to 24 population in 2007-08.

Dawn Primarolo: Data for the National Chlamydia Screening Programme have been reported to the end of December 2007. Data for the final quarter, January 2008 to March 2008, will be reported to the Health Protection Agency in April and published in May.

Community Care: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much a district nurse home visit costs on average, exclusive of the cost of any treatment being administered.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for local national health service organisations to commission services to meet local needs. This may include determining the cost of providing home visits by a district nurse.

Dental Services: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on NHS dentistry in each Staffordshire constituency in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The Government's fundamental reform programme for primary dental care services was introduced from 1 April 2006. Primary care trusts (PCTs) were given responsibility for planning and commissioning primary dental services and provided with local, devolved, dental budgets.
	North and South Staffordshire PCTs reported the following expenditure on primary dental care services in 2006-07, the first year of the new service arrangements. Data on expenditure by individual parliamentary constituency are not collected centrally.
	
		
			 000 
			   Gross expenditure  Income from dental charges paid by patients  Net expenditure 
			 National Health Service expenditure on primary dental care services, North Staffordshire PCT, 2006-07 6,483 1,818 4,665 
			 NHS expenditure on primary dental care services, South Staffordshire PCT, 2006-07 22,574 5,734 16,840 
			  Source: Audited Primary Care Trust Summarisation Schedules 2006-07 
		
	
	Prior to April 2006, most primary dental care services were provided under former general dental service (GDS) arrangements. These were demand-led services where the pattern of dental expenditure was largely determined by where dentists chose to practice, and how much NHS work they chose to undertake. PCTs were not given fixed funding allocations, except in those areas where personal dental services (PDS) pilots were established to test alternative, local commissioning arrangements and new forms of contract remuneration.
	Local level data on primary dental care expenditure prior to April 2006 is held by the Information Centre for health and social care, which is due to publish its report 'NHS Expenditure for General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services: England 1997-98 to 2005-06' in the near future. A copy will be placed in the Library following publication.
	This report will give access to the available local-level information by PCT, strategic health authority and parliamentary constituency on expenditure on NHS primary dental care.

Dental Services: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general dental practitioners providing NHS services there were in the City of York  (a) at the latest date for which figures are available and  (b) in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The number of national health service dentists, in England, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex E and Annex G of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006. Annex E provides information by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT). Annex G provides information by constituency.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006.
	The numbers of dentists on open NHS contracts, in England, as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006 and 31 March 2007, are available, in table E1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This information is provided by SHA and by PCT. Information by constituency is not available under the new dental contractual arrangements.
	This report, published on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607.
	The inclusion of dentists on trust-led contracts in the data collection following the 2006 reforms means that data collected since April 2006 cannot be directly compared with data collected under the previous system.
	The numbers quoted are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	The methodology for reporting dental work force information since the introduction of the new contract on 1 April 2006 is currently under review. The review is to ensure that the figures provide an appropriate measure of the work force, given the way that the work force reporting system is being used by PCTs. The work force data provided in the 2006-07 report will therefore remain the latest available until this review is complete.
	Both reports have been published by the Information Centre for health and social care.

Dental Services: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of  (a) adults and  (b) children in (i) the City of York, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England were registered with an NHS dentist in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: Figures showing the proportion of the population registered with an national health service dentist, adults and children, in England, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex B of the NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006. Information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT).
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. This report, published on 23 August 2006, is available in the Library and also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006.
	Under the new contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with an NHS dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	The number of adults and children seen by an NHS dentist as a percentage of the population, in England, are available in Table C2 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2, 30 September 2007 report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007 and 30 September 2007. The information is provided by SHA and by PCT.
	This report, published on 28 February 2008, is available in the Library and also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstatsq20708.
	Both reports have been published by the Information Centre for health and social care.
	The information requested is not available at constituency level.

Departmental Contracts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect information on contracts in the format requested. To do so would attract disproportionate cost.

Dermatology

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in increasing the numbers of dermatologists working in the NHS.

Ann Keen: There were 444 dermatologists identified in the NHS work force census on 30 September 2007, that is an increase of 158 (17 per cent.) from 1997. The work force census on 30 September 2007 also showed that there were 250 doctors training in the dermatology speciality, this is an increase of 73 (41.2 per cent.) from 1997.

Dermatology: Finance

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provided for dermatology care in the NHS in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Funding for dermatology services forms part of the revenue allocations. The following table shows the revenue allocations made to health authorities from 1996-97 to 2002-03 and to primary care trusts (PCTs) from 2003-04 to 2008-09. It is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations.
	
		
			   000 
			   Total England Allocation 
			 1996-97 20,886,002 
			 1997-98 21,816,441 
			 1998-99 22,895,307 
			 1999-2000 31,192,915 
			 2000-01 34,234,888 
			 2001-02 37,157,382 
			 2002-03 41,468,469 
			 2003-04 45,027,181 
			 2004-05 49,328,244 
			 2005-06 53,924,975 
			 2006-07 64,309,595 
			 2007-08 70,354,697 
			 2008-09 74,197,471

Diabetes

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with  (a) type 1 and  (b) type 2 diabetes in (i) Tyne and Wear, (ii) the North East and (iii) England in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: Data on the number of people with a specific type of diabetes are not available. The overall number of people with diabetes can be provided based on the read codes that are used in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). The QOF data for diabetes cover people over the age of 17. Data are only available for the financial years 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	Tyne and Wear is not analogous to a national health service organisation. The sum of the primary care trusts of Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland is the closest we can provide.
	In July 2006, strategic health authorities (SHAs) were restructured. We have provided for 2004-05 and 2005-06 the old SHAs that became the new North East SHA. Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA and County Durham and Tees Valley SHA became the North East SHA.
	
		
			   Area  Diabetes list size 
			 2004-05 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA 51,408 
			  County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 39,552 
			  'Tyne and Wear' 39,067 
			  England 1,766,391 
			
			 2005-06 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA 54,970 
			  County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 42,380 
			  'Tyne and Wear' 41,511 
			  England 1,890,663 
			
			 2006-07 North East SHA 101,690 
			  'Tyne and Wear' 43,111 
			  England 1,961,976

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the commitment in the 2008 drug strategy, Tackling drugs, changing lives, to achieve better outcomes for those entering treatment by raising standards across all treatment providers through new local clinical governance arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Clinical governance is an increasingly important quality and safety assurance framework for all drug treatment providers. There are important issues about how clinical governance can work across complex drug treatment systems and how this can be helpful to drug treatment services, not just those in the national health service, and their commissioners.
	The National Treatment Agency (NTA) is working with local partnerships to help ensure that clinical governance is operating effectively across the drug treatment sector. The NTA have asked that partnerships set out in their annual treatment plans what actions were planned at a partnership level to identify the current arrangements for clinical governance and what is planned to support their future development to enable service providers to respond to recent guidelines. This should include, as a minimum:
	a planned audit by the partnership of current clinical governance arrangements; and
	an objective that all providers will review their practice in line with recent National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence drug misuse guidelines and technology appraisals (which together effectively update recognised standards of practice) and clinical excellence guidance documents and the recently revised 'clinical guidelines' through an effective clinical governance mechanism.
	In February this year the NTA published a consultation draft of guidance on clinical governance in drug treatment. Consultation will finish on 14 May 2008.

Eyesight: Testing

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of  (a) children under 16-years-old and  (b) adults entitled to free eye tests who have regular eye examinations.

Ann Keen: The Department has made no estimate of the numbers of individuals who are entitled to a sight test and who have regular eye examinations.
	Numbers of General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) sight tests paid for by the national health service per 10,000 persons in England, Wales, Scotland and Great Britain for the years ending 31 March 1996 to 2005 are available in Table 3 of General Ophthalmic Services: Consultation tables for England, Wales and Scotland, 2004-05. Information is available for children (aged 15 and under), students in full-time education (aged 16 to 18) and other eligible adults.
	Copies of this report, published 30 November 2005, have been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/genopth2005
	The Information Centre for health and social care will aim to publish a complete time series of population rates for numbers of GOS sight tests paid for by the NHS, by patient eligibility in the General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and WalesYear Ending 31 March 2008 report. This report is due to be published in July 2008.

Folic Acid

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet representatives of  (a) Folic Acid Action and  (b) the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus to discuss the proposals of the Food Standards Agency to limit the strength of folic acid in food supplements.

Dawn Primarolo: Women who might become pregnant are recommended to take 400 micrograms per day folic acid until the 12 week of pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defect affected pregnancies. There are no plans to revise this long standing Food Standards Agency/departmental advice or to limit the levels of folic acid in those supplements aimed at women of child-bearing age. There are therefore no plans for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to meet these organisations.

General Practitioners: Training

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours of training relating to substance misuse those preparing to become GPs receive.

Ann Keen: The educational and training curricula of doctors is set and managed by the appropriate Royal College for the specialty concerned. The content of the training curriculum is agreed by the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. The Department is not involved in setting training programmes but does share a commitment with those bodies that all health professionals are trained so that they have the skills and knowledge to deliver high quality healthcare in their specialty.

Genetics: Testing

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to regulate the sale by biotechnology companies of genetic testing kits which determine susceptibility to psychiatric disorders; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In its response to the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) report on direct to consumer genetic tests in 2007, the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency undertook to work with the HGC and other interested parties, such as the Advertising Standards Authority, to develop a voluntary code of practice to ensure that genetic testing services are safe, effective and are promoted responsibly.

Health Centres: Railway Stations

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the use by UK nationals of drop-in health centres at London's mainline stations in the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: There are three centrally procured operational contracts for commuter walk-in centres in London at Victoria, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf. These are located close to major commuter hubs and not actually within mainline stations.
	The Department collects information on ethnic origin from patients but has made no formal analysis of this data. All patients visiting the commuter walk-in centres are asked to fill in a form which gathers information on ethnic origin. It is not compulsory to fill in these forms and therefore the Department does not hold full data sets about the ethnic origin of the patients treated.
	The following table shows the number of patients who voluntarily recorded their ethnic origin as British at commuter walk-in centres in London for January 2006 to December 2007.
	
		
			  Facility  Patients treated  Number of recorded British nationals treated( 1)  Date of service commencement  Average number of patients per day 
			 Liverpool Street 41,463 30,103 December 2005 80 
			 Canary Wharf 30,380 20,769 April 2006 74 
			 Victoria 22,582 16,098 December 2006 117 
			 Total 94,425 66,970   
			 (1) This column represents people who have listed themselves as 'white British'' 'Asian or Asian British' and 'black or black British'. Due to the way ethnic origin statistics are collected this means the number of people recorded here could also include some non-British nationals.

Health Visitors

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors there were in each  (a) region and  (b) primary care trust in each of the last five years for which figures are available in terms of (i) headcount and (ii) full-time equivalent staff.

Ann Keen: A table has been placed in the Library which shows the number of health visitors in England during the last five years, broken down by strategic health authority and primary care trust for both headcount and full-time equivalent staff.

Heart Diseases: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many men under the age of 35 years in  (a) Romford constituency,  (b) the London borough of Havering and  (c) Greater London had heart attacks in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the evaluation report on pilot sites for the provision of primary angioplasty will be published.

Ann Keen: The evaluation of the primary angioplasty pilot sites being carried out by the University of Sheffield into staffing, patient experience and costs is due to be completed by the end of April 2008. This will feed into the final report by the Department to be published later this year.

Hereditary Diseases

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) he,  (b) his Ministers and  (c) his officials have had meetings in relation to birth defects in consanguineous marriages in the last six months.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of birth defects in consanguineous marriages is not collected centrally. The Department's correspondence unit has no record of any representations on birth defects as a result of from consanguineous marriages this year. Neither Ministers nor officials have met to discuss this issue in the last six months.

Hospitals: Cleaning Services

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has allocated to hospitals in the west midlands for deep cleaning to date, broken down by hospital.

Ann Keen: All trusts were required to submit and agree their deep clean plans with primary care trusts in their area by 14 December 2007 and this process has been monitored and assessed by strategic health authorities (SHAs). As set out in the written ministerial statement given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State on 17 January,  Official Report, columns 38-39WS, further information on the implementation of the deep clean of the national health service is available from SHAs. All deep cleans will be complete by the end of March 2008.

Hospitals: Parking

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues to NHS bodies on the level of charges levied at hospital car parks; whether such guidance permits the setting of charges at levels above those required for cost recovery; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service bodies are able to charge for car parking on their premises as an income generation scheme. NHS bodies have income generation powers enabling them to generate income by utilising spare capacity resulting from a non-core function.
	Providing car parking services will inevitably incur overheads that must be paid for, such as maintenance and operational costs, security and lighting. If no charges were imposed, these costs would have to be found from elsewhere, at the risk of diverting funds away from patient services. Profits after covering these costs are allowed, but they must only be used to improve the health service.
	The Department issued revised guidance to the NHS in December 2006 entitled Income Generation: Car Parking ChargesBest Practice for Implementation on the issues to be considered when setting up a car parking scheme or when reviewing existing ones, including what kind of car parking scheme to offer, what charges to impose and what concessions to consider.
	However, the fact remains that it is for individual NHS bodies to set the level of car parking charges on their premises, taking account of all the relevant local factors.

Hospitals: Waste Disposal

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department monitors the  (a) level of emissions from hospital incinerators and  (b) effects on health of dioxins produced from burning hospital waste.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department provides advice and guidance to the national health service on the management and disposal routes of healthcare waste in health technical memorandum (HTM) 07-01: Safe management of healthcare waste. A copy of HTM 07-01 is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_063274.
	It is the role of the Environment Agency and the relevant local authority to licence and register all waste disposal plant, including NHS operated sites and a number of privately operated sites that are still located on hospital land. This will include monitoring the level of emissions and reporting on dioxin levels to ensure they are within acceptable and permissible limits.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill: Hearing Impaired

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with representatives of deaf communities on provisions in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

Dawn Primarolo: Officials at the Department have had contact with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, the British Deaf Association, Islington Deaf Campaign and the Stop Eugenics group. Communication with these groups is ongoing.

Injuries: Sports

Richard Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people attended accident and emergency departments as a result of sports injuries in the last two years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not collected centrally. Hospital Episode Statistics does not collect data on accident and emergency attendance.

Junior Doctors: Labour Turnover

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors left the NHS in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what estimate he has made of the number likely to leave the NHS in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We do not collect the number of junior doctors who have left the national health service. We do collect the number in post, which is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  England as 30 September each year 
			  Number 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Registrar Group 14,619 16,823 18,006 18,808 30,759 
			 Senior House Officer 18,698 20,601 21,642 18,863 5,954 
			 Foundation Year 23,693 4,830 
			 House Officer and Foundation  
			 Programme Year 1 4,003 4,273 4,663 4,905 5,240 
			 Total 37,320 41,697 44,311 46,269 46,783

Kidney Patients: Medical Treatments

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people received dialysis treatment in each of the last five years, broken down by trust;
	(2)  what the average waiting time for the commencement of dialysis treatment is, broken down by trust.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect this information.
	Information on acceptance rates onto renal replacement therapies, the percentage of patients on each modality of treatment, and the referral to treatment times for incident patients is collected by the UK Renal Registry. The annual reports containing analysis of data from 1997 to 2006 can be found on the Renal Registry's website at:
	www.renalreg.com/reports/.

Macular Degeneration: Drugs

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects clinical trials for the use of avastin in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration to commence.

Dawn Primarolo: Avastin has not been licensed for use in wet age-macular degeneration (AMD) and the companies that make Avastin have not applied for a licence for the treatment of AMD.
	The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme commissioned a head-to-head trial of Avastin and Lucentis in July 2007 to compare their clinical and cost-effectiveness in the treatment of wet AMD. Funding for the trial will amount to 2.8 million over a period of 42 months.
	Further details about the trial can be found at:
	www.ncchta.org/project/1625.asp
	The law does allow the use of either unlicensed medicines or the prescribing of a licensed medicinal product 'off-label'that is outside the terms of its marketing authorisation in order to meet special clinical needs. Such prescriptions are subject to the individual clinician's judgment and are on the personal responsibility of the prescriber, and subject to funding by individual primary care trusts.

Maternal Mortality

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of UK  (a) maternal and  (b) infant mortality rates against EU benchmarks; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The United Kingdom is one of the safest places in the world to have a baby. The UK rate for 2000-02 of seven maternal deaths per 100,000 pregnancies is comparable to that of France (17), Switzerland (seven) and the USA (14).
	For the past 52 years, the UK is the only country in the world in which health professionals submit their work to review by their peers and they proactively notify the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health of any women they know have died.
	The infant mortality rate for England was 5.0 per 1,000 live births in 2004, compared to the 2004 European Union average of 5.3 per 1,000, according to the latest World Health Organisation data. These rates have fallen by around 40 per cent. in the last 15 years and they are broadly comparable to other industrialised countries, according to the latest United Nations Children's Fund report. Action to reduce health inequalities in infant mortality continues to be a national priority.
	It is difficult to make international comparisons due to differential definitions and data registration systems, and comparisons should be made with caution. The review system used to establish maternal death in the UK, unlike in other countries, covers not just those where death certificates name maternal death. The differences in registrations of live births mean that there are variations between countries in reporting live births and infant deaths.

Maternity Services: Closures

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maternity units in England have closed since May 2005.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. Any decisions on changes to services should be locally led and transparent, with full consultation with local people. It is only right that decisions about service reconfiguration and which maternity units remain open or close, are matters for local primary care trusts to determine, taking into account local population needs, priorities and resources, and having followed all appropriate processes, including public consultation.

Maternity Services: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on maternity services in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) region and  (b) NHS trust.

Ann Keen: Information is not available by individual trust. The following table shows expenditure by region. The expenditure shown is for the commissioning of secondary healthcare (maternity) by strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs).
	On 25 January 2008, we announced extra funding over the next three years, totalling 330 million to ensure mothers get the best possible care. The funding which will available to trusts from April 2008 will also ensure a growth in the maternity work force.
	
		
			  
			  SHA area  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			   000s  000s  000s  000s  000s 
			 North East 74,560 79,861 91,634 86,823 88,551 
			 North West 227,671 222,087 232,236 246,229 254,309 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 129,157 128,768 141,008 151,349 178,431 
			 East Midlands 93,732 116,418 139,056 134,221 138,948 
			 West Midlands 135,737 151,453 152,441 181,340 176,080 
			 East of England 111,963 114,646 137,075 144,498 131,464 
			 London 179,322 235,184 289,020 318,324 271,826 
			 South East Coast 104,958 112,444 110,282 118,213 111,155 
			 South Central 91,135 89,246 110,115 140,165 137,468 
			 South West 108,522 100,179 141,971 156,042 128,545 
			  England 1,256,757 1,350,286 1,544,838 1,677,204 1,616,777 
			  Sources: Audited SHA summarisation forms 2002-03 Audited PCT summarisation schedules 2002-03 to 2006-07

Maternity Services: Negligence

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims under Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts there have been relating to maternity services since 1995; and what the value has been of such claims.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Numbers and values of open Obstetrics claims by year since 1995 
			  NHSLA notification year  Number of claims  Provision ()  Damages paid ()  Defence costs paid ()  Claimant costs paid ()  Total paid () 
			 1995-96 1 65,910 260,000 55,717 96,000 411,717 
			 1996-97 15 20,713,281 14,528,917 1,000,993 1,765,121 17,295,031 
			 1997-98 38 69,061,487 36,891,074 3,306,765 4,523,569 44,721,408 
			 1998-99 36 65,345,652 32,882,070 2,318,862 3,304,852 38,505,784 
			 1999-2000 60 90,270,296 59,615,618 4,470,430 6,320,348 70,406,396 
			 2000-01 77 111,124,415 37,003,394 4,574,095 4,524,231 46,101,720 
			 2001-02 102 153,984,627 38,508,925 5,157,911 4,108,059 47,774,895 
			 2002-03 95 156,242,842 29,710,673 4,242,325 3,799,108 37,752,105 
			 2003-04 102 150,071,824 20,910,337 3;366,845 1,753,813 26,030,995 
			 2004-05 141 112,589,541 11,467,436 2,679,355 1,641,137 15,787,928 
			 2005-06 209 158,600,728 11,101,880 2,598,870 1,597,013 15,297,763 
			 2006-07 286 140,322,361 2,863,559 1,508,175 744,086 5,115,819 
			 2007-08 so far 368 122,591,874 393,619 309,698 137,162 840,479 
			 Total 1,530 1,350,984,839 296,137,504 35,590,040 34,314,496 366,042,039 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers and values of closed obstetrics claims by year since 1995 
			  NHSLA notification year  Number of claims  Damages paid ()  Defence costs paid ()  Claimant costs paid ()  Total paid () 
			 1995-96 20 5,417,067 203,938 369,449 5,990,454 
			 1996-97 95 45,301,545 2,220,487 4,622,019 52,144,050 
			 1997-98 120 33,496,440 2,228,494 3,762,454 39,487,387 
			 1998-99 198 37,430,932 3,138,317 4,778,256 45,347,505 
			 1999-2000 347 56,064,232 5,786,991 8,472,891 70,324,114 
			 2000-01 419 68,584,013 6,524,745 8,169,565 83,278,323 
			 2001-02 837 43,369,399 8,428,152 11,039,158 62,836,709 
			 2002-03 828 31,478,208 5,492,940 10,327,096 47,298,243 
			 2003-04 652 20,481,953 2,795,414 5,310,219 28,587,586 
			 2004-05 561 11,067,514 1,915,640 3,873,399 16,856,553 
			 2005-06 466 3,501,356 899,224 2,395,002 6,795,582 
			 2006-07 304 1,604,464 239,987 967,494 2,811,944 
			 2007-08 so far 70 125,198 10,126 96,790 232,114 
			 Total 4,917 357,922,318 39,884,453 64,183,793 461,990,565 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers and values of all obstetrics claims by year since 1995 
			  NHSLA notification year  Number of claims  Provision ()  Damages paid ()  Defence costs paid ()  Claimant costs paid ()  Total paid () 
			 1995-96 21 65,910 5,677,067 259,654 465,449 6,402,171 
			 1996-97 110 20,713,281 59,830,462 3,221,480 6,387,140 69,439,082 
			 1997-98 158 69,061,487 70,387,514 5,535,259 8,286,022 84,208,795 
			 1998-99 234 65,345,652 70,313,002 5,457,179 8,083,107 83,853,288 
			 1999-2000 407 90,270,296 115,679,850 10,257,421 14,793,239 140,730,509 
			 2000-01 496 111,124,415 105,587,407 11,098,841 12,693,796 129,380,044 
			 2001-02 939 153,984,627 81,878,324 13,586,063 15,147,218 110,611,604 
			 2002-03 923 156,242,842 61,188,881 9,735,264 14,126,204 85,050,349 
			 2003-04 754 150,071,824 41,392,290 6,162,259 7,064,031 54,618,580 
			 2004-05 702 112,589,541 22,534,950 4,594,995 5,514,536 32,644,481 
			 2005-06 675 158,600,728 14,603,236 3,498,095 3,992,015 22,093,345 
			 2006-07 590 140,322,361 4,468,022 1,748,162 1,711,580 7,927,764 
			 2007-08 so far 438 122,591,874 518,817 319,823 233,952 1,072,593 
			 Total 6,447 1,350,984,839 654,059,822 75,474,493 98,498,289 828,032,604 
			  Notes: NHSLA Notification year relates to the year the claim was notified to the NHSLA, and not the year the incident occurred nor the year the claim was settled. Open claims include claims where damages have been agreed but final payments have not yet been paid. Provisions denote the likely amount that the NHSLA expects to pay on the claim, given current available data, should it be successful. Provisions are subject to change over time. Data shown is valid for the period up to 20 March 2008.  Source: NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA).

Maternity Services: Negligence

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient safety incidents relating to maternity services were reported to the National Patient Safety Agency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The number of patient safety incidents relating to maternity services reported to the National Patient Safety Agency is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Year reported  Frequency 
			 2005 28,891 
			 2006 50,608 
			 2007 74,986 
		
	
	The increase in the number of incidents reported annually reflects the trend in all incident reporting. An increased number of reported incidents does not necessarily mean a higher number of incidents but may instead reflect greater levels of reporting.

Medicine: Overseas Students

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of medical graduates from overseas medical schools who applied for speciality training in 2007 had indefinite leave to remain.

Ann Keen: The available data allow applicants to be categorised as one of a limited number of categories, shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Breakdown of eligible modernising medical careers 2007 applicants (England) 
			   International Medical Graduates(IMGs)  United Kingdom Graduates (UKGs)  All applicants 
			   Number  Percentage of IMG total  Number  Percentage of UKG total  Number  Percentage of aggregate total 
			 UK nationals 1,811 13 11,994 88 13,805 50 
			 Other European economic area (EEA) nationals 1,545 11 389 3 1,934 7 
			 Non-EEA nationals on highly skilled management programme 8,352 59 573 4 8,925 32 
			 Other non-EEA nationals 2,517 18 668 5 3,185 11 
			 Total 14,225 100 13,624 100 27,849 100 
			  Note: Applicants are categorised as England applicants according to their first choice round 1 application.

Mental Health Services: MRSA

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of  (a) MRSA and  (b) clostridium difficile were recorded in mental health units in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Methadone

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many methadone prescriptions were issued by primary care trusts in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Methadone can be prescribed as a cough suppressant, as an analgesic or for the treatment of addiction. All three uses are included in these figures and cannot be separated. The Department does not hold information on prescriptions issued, only on prescription items prescribed in primary care trusts and then dispensed. The total number of items prescribed in England and dispensed in the United Kingdom for methadone since February 2003 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Prescription items prescribed in the community in England and dispensed in the UK 
			   Methadone (thousand) 
			 2003 (February to December) 843.3 
			 2004 1,046.0 
			 2005 1,246.7 
			 2006 1,514.1 
			 2007 1,783.9 
			  Source: Electronic Prescribing Analysis and Cost Tool system

Midwives: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date he estimates midwife numbers will have risen sufficiently to provide 36 midwives per 1,000 deliveries.

Ann Keen: The number of midwives is expected to rise by an additional 4,000 by 2012. Estimates to provide 36 midwives per 1,000 deliveries are not yet available.
	The September 2007 Census figure shows that the number of midwives (full-time equivalent (FTE)) increased by 2.5 per cent. from September 2006 and we now have more than 25,000 (19,298 FTE) midwives, the highest number ever.
	In January 2008 we announced extra funding of 330 million over the next three years to ensure that mothers get the best possible maternity care. This money will be available to the national health service from April 2008 to invest in their maternity services.

NHS Cleaning Summit

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library copies of the  (a) agenda,  (b) minutes and  (c) summary of feedback from delegates at his Department's cleaning summit on 28 February;
	(2)  which organisations were represented at his Department's cleaning summit held on 28 February;
	(3)  what the cost was of his Department's cleaning summit held on 28 February.

Ann Keen: The NHS chief executive, David Nicholson hosted a Cleanliness summit on 28 February, as per the commitment in Clean, Safe Care: reducing infections saving lives (January 2008). This was a meeting aimed at understanding the broad challenges of delivering clean hospitals, and at sharing ideas for ongoing work. Formal minutes were not recorded, although notes were taken of subjects raised, and of plans for future work. Copies of the agenda, a letter to invitees from the NHS chief executive, which includes a list of delegates and a note of key points and next steps from the meeting have been placed in the Library.
	The meeting was held at the Department and administrative costs were met from within departmental overheads. Additional costs were for a buffet lunch and an external facilitator:
	
		
			
			 Facilitator 738.20 
			 Lunch 264.80 
			  Note: Excluding VAT

NHS Counter Fraud Squad: Manpower and Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many staff were assigned to the NHS Counter Fraud Squad in each of the last five financial years;
	(2)  how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time investigators were employed by the NHS Counter-Fraud Squad in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the budget of the NHS Counter-Fraud Squad was in each of the last five years;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the cost of fraud to the NHS in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The number of staff employed by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS) at the end of the last five financial years and the number of those staff who were either full or part-time investigators is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total number of staff in post 243 289 246 197 170 
			 Number of full-time investigators 58 57 60 51 48 
			 Number of part-time investigators 4 4 4 3 3 
		
	
	The NHS CFS budget figures for the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			million 
			 2003-04 8,929 
			 2004-05 13,893 
			 2005-06 11,521 
			 2006-07 11,620 
			 2007-08 10,491 
		
	
	Information on the cost of fraud to the national health service for the last three years is not available in the format requested. The NHS CFS has developed risk measurement exercises to carry out examinations of samples of cases in specific areas of NHS spending and produce statistically robust estimates of fraud, corruption and error. Exercises have been carried out across pharmaceutical, optical and dental primary care cervices. These show an overall reduction in losses to fraud within these services of 94.65 million, or 55.4 per cent. as a result of anti-fraud work.

NHS Questionnaires

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2860W, on NHS questionnaires, what businesses were contracted by the Department to conduct surveys on its behalf in 2007-08; and what the cost to the public purse was of each of these contracts.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not available without incurring disproportionate cost.

NHS: Ancillary Staff

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1897-903W, on NHS: ancillary staff, what proportion of staff at each acute hospital trust was designated as  (a) medical,  (b) nursing,  (c) midwifery and health visiting,  (d) scientific,  (e) therapeutic,  (f) technical,  (g) ambulance,  (h) NHS infrastructure support and  (i) administrative staff in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: NHS staff in acute trusts in England by main staff group as at 30 September 2007 
			  headcount percentage 
			All NHS staff  Medical and dental staff  Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff  Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff  Qualified ambulance service staff  Support to clinical staff( 1)  NHS infrastructure re: support( 2) 
			 Total specified organisations  100 10.8 33.6 11.9 0.0 28.1 15.6 
			  
			 Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust REM 100 10.2 29.6 16.2 0.0 32.3 11.7 
			 Airedale NHS Trust RCF 100 8.0 25.4 12.7 0.0 30.0 23.9 
			 Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust RTK 100 13.2 32.0 11.5 0.0 28.4 14.9 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust RF4 100 12.3 38.9 12.0 0.0 29.2 7.7 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust RVL 100 12.4 38.4 11.1 0.0 30.2 7.8 
			 Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RFF 100 10.8 33.3 13.1 0.0 31 .8 11.1 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust RNJ 100 15.9 39.0 12.5 0.0 20.4 12.2 
			 Basildon and Thurrock General Hospital NHS Trust ROD 100 8.9 35.2 7.5 0.0 34.1 14.3 
			 Bedford Hospital NHS Trust RC1 100 9.9 33.4 11.6 0.0 30.2 15.0 
			 Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust RQ3 100 11.6 39.2 15.0 0.0 22.3 11.7 
			 Birmingham Women's Healthcare NHS Trust RLU 100 5.8 35.6 14.8 0.0 26.4 17.4 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust RXL 100 9.0 32.4 10.3 0.0 29.7 18.6 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust RMC 100 10.2 36.1 10.4 0.0 29.6 13.8 
			 Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RAE 100 11.4 33.3 11.7 0.0 26.1 17.6 
			 Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust RXH 100 12.6 37.3 13.1 0.0 25.2 11.8 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust RG3 100 12.3 38.3 10.1 0.0 27.7 11.5 
			 Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust RXQ 100 12.2 35.5 11.7 0.0 28.0 12.7 
			 Burton Hospitals NHS Trust RJF 100 10.0 32.2 12.9 0.0 26.0 18.9 
			 Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust RWY 100 9.0 29.9 16.2 0.0 29.9 15.0 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RGT 100 12.7 38.3 14.5 0.0 23.9 10.6 
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals RW3 100 9.4 35.9 14.1 0.0 26.9 13.6 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust RQM 100 17.6 43.8 12.7 0.0 19.0 6.8 
			 Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RFS 100 9.3 29.5 11.6 0.0 30.0 19.6 
			 Christie Hospital NHS Trust RBV 100 8.0 23.6 19.8 0.0 27.1 21.4 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust RLN 100 9.9 33.0 12.8 0.0 26.5 17.8 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust REN 100 9.5 21.5 30.6 0.0 14.8 23.6 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RJR 100 8.6 27.6 14.2 0.0 32.3 17.4 
			 County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RXP 100 9.4 33.9 8.5 0.0 29.4 18.7 
			 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust RN7 100 10.9 37.2 12.1 0.1 28.3 11.2 
			 Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RTG 100 8.9 28.7 12.7 0.0 31.7 17.9 
			 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Trust RP5 100 7.7 27.7 11.3 0.0 20.1 33.1 
			 Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust RNA 100 10.2 36.1 13.8 0.0 34.8 5.1 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust RC3 100 11.8 51.4 5.9 0.0 21.5 9.4 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust RWH 100 11.5 36.2 10.7 0.0 22.9 18.7 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust RJN 100 8.3 30.8 13.0 0.0 34.7 13.2 
			 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust RW 100 11.6 33.5 13.7 0.0 30.5 10.8 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust RXR 100 8.2 35.1 10.8 0.0 27.2 18.7 
			 East Somerset NHS Trust RA4 100 10.4 32.6 10.5 0.0 31.6 14.9 
			 East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust RXC 100 8.6 30.7 9.0 0.0 33.4 18.4 
			 Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust RVR 100 11.5 44.5 8.2 0.0 26.0 9.8 
			 Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust RDE 100 10.8 36.2 14.9 0.0 32.1 5.9 
			 Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RDU 100 9.9 32.8 10.0 0.0 32.1 15.1 
			 Gateshead Health NHS Trust RR7 100 8.4 30.5 10.4 0.0 27.1 23.7 
			 Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RTE 100 9.2 31.8 13.1 0.0 27.9 17.9 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Sick Children NHS Trust RP4 100 14.1 36.8 15.9 0.0 19.1 14.1 
			 Guys and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust RJ1 100 13.5 34.3 15.3 0.0 19.7 17.2 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust RQN 100 15.4 39.6 13.8 0.0 21.8 9.4 
			 Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust RCD 100 11.0 30.3 14.1 0.0 29.4 15.0 
			 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust RR1 100 9.5 36.1 10.5 0.0 31.9 12.0 
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust RD7 100 9.2 39.0 8.4 0.0 23.7 19.8 
			 Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust RLQ 100 10.2 35.6 12.0 0.0 35.2 7.0 
			 Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust RAS 100 10.1 37.9 8.7 0.0 31.4 11.9 
			 Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust RQQ 100 9.7 34.9 9.0 0.0 29.9 16.4 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RQX 100 12.3 35.9 9.2 0.0 31.7 10.9 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWA 100 10.3 33.8 10.6 0.0 28.3 17.0 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust RGQ 100 9.1 34.3 14.8 0.0 33.7 8.2 
			 James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust RGP 100 8.3 27.4 10.5 0.0 30.6 23.0 
			 Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust RNQ 100 9.1 32.5 7.3 0.0 32.7 18.3 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Trust RJZ 100 17.0 37.9 14.3 0.0 22.9 7.7 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust RAX 100 12.5 35.4 12.9 0.0 30.4 8.8 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RXN 100 10.1 33.0 11.4 0.0 29.2 16.2 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust RR8 100 11.1 30.2 13.8 0.0 25.9 19.0 
			 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust REP 100 6.9 52.4 8.1 0.0 20.3 12.3 
			 Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust RC9 100 11.7 34.1 10.6 0.0 29.6 14.0 
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust RWF 100 10.9 31.4 9.1 0.0 28.4 20.2 
			 Mayday HealthCare NHS Trust RJ6 100 12.1 39.0 9.8 0.0 17.6 21.3 
			 Medway NHS Trust RPA 100 10.2 31.6 7.6 0.0 32.7 17.9 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust RQ8 100 11.6 35.9 11.5 0.0 23.1 18.0 
			 Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust RJD 100 9.5 26.6 12.5 0.0 30.7 20.6 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust RXF 100 9.6 30.8 12.0 0.0 32.7 14.8 
			 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust RD8 100 11.1 30.5 10.3 0.0 35.5 12.5 
			 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RP6 100 17.7 23.1 16.1 0.0 27.3 15.7 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust RTX 100 7.4 32.3 10.2 0.0 28.6 21.1 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust RNH 100 13.3 40.1 6.1 0.0 29.6 10.8 
			 Norfolk and Norwich Health Care NHS Trust RM1 100 12.2 33.8 12.8 0.0 33.3 8.0 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust RVJ 100 8.4 35.5 13.4 0.0 25.5 17.1 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWW 100 7.8 29.7 13.2 0.0 33.5 15.8 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RNL 100 9.4 35.4 10.1 0.0 31.8 13.2 
			 North Devon Healthcare NHS Trust RBZ 100 8.2 31.7 11.7 0.0 32.4 16.1 
			 North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust RN5 100 10.5 34.3 9.8 0.0 20.1 24.9 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust RAP 100 12.8 38.6 10.8 0.0 24.3 13.6 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust RVW 100 9.8 31.7 11.2 0.0 27.1 20.3 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust RV8 100 13.3 38.5 14.7 0.0 25.2 8.3 
			 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust RNS 100 10.3 34.6 11.5 0.0 31.1 12.5 
			 Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust RJL 100 8.2 28.3 11.9 0.0 27.0 24.6 
			 Northumbria Health Care NHS Trust RTF 100 8.1 31.7 11.2 0.0 30.9 18.1 
			 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust RX1 100 11.4 32.2 13.2 0.0 26.2 17.0 
			 Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust RBF 100 7.8 28.7 23.9 0.0 28.2 11.5 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust RTH 100 16.2 35.7 12.9 0.0 24.8 10.4 
			 Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RGM 100 8.7 35.5 13.7 0.0 27.8 14.3 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RW6 100 10.2 34.5 7.9 0.0 34.2 13.1 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RGN 100 10.3 35.3 11.8 0.0 30.7 12.0 
			 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust RK9 100 12.5 30.8 13.9 0.0 28.8 13.9 
			 Poole Hospital NHS Trust RD3 100 9.5 29.3 14.2 0.0 37.1 9.9 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust RHU 100 9.7 34.6 9.6 0.0 29.6 16.6 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust RG2 100 13.0 41.4 9.6 0.0 28.3 7.7 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust RGZ 100 12.7 34.2 10.0 0.0 33.0 10.1 
			 Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RPC 100 12.3 29.5 12.2 0.0 29.7 16.2 
			 Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital NHS RL1 100 8.3 24.8 16.7 0.0 32.5 17.7 
			 Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust RHW 100 10.8 32.3 11.3 0.0 26.8 18.7 
			 Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RDZ RDZ 100 8.0 31.9 11.4 0.0 33.5 15.2 
			 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust RT3 100 11.6 39.5 14.9 0.0 16.6 17.4 
			 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust REF 100 11.7 29.7 12.2 0.0 27.8 18.7 
			 Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust RH8 100 10.5 29.6 12.0 0.0 23.7 24.2 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust RAL 100 13.5 35.8 14.9 0.0 18.9 16.9 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust RQ6 100 11.2 30.7 13.8 0.0 27.8 16.5 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital NHS Trust RBS 100 8.6 36.3 16.1 0.0 19.5 19.4 
			 Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust RPY 100 12.1 34.2 16.9 0.0 19.2 17.6 
			 Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Disorders NHS foundation RBB 100 5.0 26.1 18.9 0.0 34.4 15.6 
			 Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust RAN 100 10.2 38.3 15.3 0.0 13.9 22.2 
			 Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust RRJ 100 9.0 34.4 7.6 0.0 31.4 17.7 
			 Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust RA2 100 14.0 32.1 16.7 0.0 20.8 16.3 
			 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust RD1 100 10.6 32.3 11.6 0.0 26.9 18.5 
			 Royal West Sussex NHS Trust RPR 100 10.2 36.3 10.0 0.0 22.4 21 .0 
			 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust RM3 100 11.2 33.7 7.9 0.0 33.0 14.2 
			 Salisbury Health Care NHS Trust RNZ 100 8.9 29.4 14.2 0.0 21.5 25.9 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust RXK 100 11.8 31.7 10.1 0.0 30.3 15.9 
			 Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care NHS Trust RCC 100 9.1 28.5 7.9 0.0 25.2 29.2 
			 Sheffield Children's Hospital NHS Trust RCU 100 12.3 28.5 16.2 0.0 19.5 23.5 
			 Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RHQ 100 9.8 31.1 12.9 0.0 29.0 17.3 
			 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust RK5 100 8.1 28.0 9.0 0.0 31.5 23.4 
			 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust RXW 100 9.8 31.8 13.6 0.0 32.1 12.6 
			 South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust RA9 100 9.6 25.3 13.1 0.0 32.5 19.4 
			 South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust RM2 100 11.7 36.4 12.5 0.0 31.4 7.9 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust RTR 100 11.3 33.7 11.3 0.0 31.7 12.0 
			 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust RE9 100 7.9 26.6 10.6 0.0 27.5 27.4 
			 South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust RJC 100 11.9 34.9 12.4 0.0 31.6 9.3 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust RHM 100 13.0 35.8 12.8 0.0 25.5 12.9 
			 Southend Hospital NHS Trust RAJ 100 9.2 26.3 15.5 0.0 37.6 11.4 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust RVY 100 8.6 28.2 14.1 0.0 29.3 19.8 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust RJ7 100 13.7 36.4 19.2 0.0 20.7 10.0 
			 St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust RBN 100 8.7 30.5 7.4 0.0 31.5 21.9 
			 St Mary's NHS Trust RJ5 100 18.5 35.9 13.8 0.0 20.5 11.2 
			 Stockport NHS Trust RWJ 100 8.3 32.6 10.0 0.0 29.8 19.2 
			 Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust RTP 100 11.8 33.7 8.2 0.0 32.3 13.9 
			 Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust RNS 100 11.6 39.8 9.5 0.0 29.4 9.7 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust RMP 100 10.3 35.7 9.7 0.0 31.4 13.0 
			 Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust RBA 100 10.6 31.1 12.0 0.0 30.1 16.2 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre Liverpool NHS Trust RBQ 100 7.8 42.2 12.4 0.0 17.7 19.9 
			 The George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust RLT 100 7.8 28.2 10.8 0.0 37.2 16.0 
			 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust RJ2 100 12.2 41.0 9.3 0.0 21.5 16.0 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospital NHS Trust RBT 100 7.3 29.8 11.6 0.0 31.1 20.1 
			 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust RTD 100 12.2 33.4 13.7 0.0 27.7 13.1 
			 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust RQW 100 11.3 33.4 7.2 0.0 27.5 20.7 
			 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust RCX 100 10.8 32.0 9.8 0.0 30.5 16.9 
			 The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust RFR 100 8.4 30.5 10.7 0.0 40.1 10.2 
			 The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust RL4 100 10.4 32.1 11.0 0.0 30.6 15.8 
			 The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWD 100 9.7 32.3 9.4 0.0 31.3 17.2 
			 The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust RKE 100 8.7 40.3 10.8 0.0 19.8 20.4 
			 The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust RBL 100 7.0 30.4 10.2 0.0 34.8 17.5 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust RM4 100 7.4 29.8 7.4 0.0 32.5 22.9 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust RA7 100 12.2 31.6 13.8 0.0 27.3 15.1 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RRV 100 14.6 39.9 15.7 0.0 15.7 14.2 
			 University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust RRK 100 11.3 33.0 13.5 0.0 20.8 21.5 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust RJE 100 9.6 31.9 10.4 0.0 26.7 21.4 
			 University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust RKB 100 11.5 36.5 11.4 0.0 29.9 10.7 
			 University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust RWE 100 11.8 32.6 12.0 0.0 30.5 13.0 
			 Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust RBK 100 7.9 29.6 8.9 0.0 31.5 22.1 
			 Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust RET 100 11.8 34.3 8.5 0.0 32.6 12.8 
			 West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust RBD 100 9.0 31.7 10.9 0.0 34.5 13.9 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWG 100 12.1 34.9 10.8 0.0 29.1 13.2 
			 West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust RFW 100 15.0 46.3 6.4 0.0 20.8 11.4 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust RGR 100 9.5 33.3 10.9 0.0 30.2 16.1 
			 Weston Area Health NHS Trust RA3 100 9.9 29.5 9.6 0.1 28.0 22.9 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust RGC 100 12.7 40.7 10.4 0.0 26.3 9.9 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust RN1 100 8.6 32.2 11.2 0.0 24.8 23.2 
			 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust RWP 100 9.6 36.5 10.3 0.0 30.1 13.6 
			 Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust RPL 100 9.6 31.7 10.9 0.0 32.1 15.7 
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust RRF 100 8.7 28.5 7.0 0.0 30.6 25.2 
			 York Hospitals NHS Trust RGB 100 9.3 31.8 12.1 0.0 30.4 16.4 
			 (1) Includes clerical and administrative staff working specifically in clinical areas, for example medical secretaries and medical records officers. (2) NHS Infrastructure Support includes administrative managers and senior mangers, maintenance staff and clerical and administrative staff working in central functions. Central functions includes areas such as personnel, finance, IT, legal services, library services, health education and general management support services.  Note: Percentages for some organisations will not total 100 due to the exclusion of small numbers of staff who are classed as Other and unknown.  Sources: 1. The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census 2. The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census

NHS: Violent Patients

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were registered on the violent patient register of each London primary care trust in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: There is no legislative provision for the maintenance of a violent patient register. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are required to consult their Local Medical Committee, if there is one, about any proposals they have to establish a specific scheme in their area for dealing with violent patients requiring primary medical services. In setting up local arrangements PCTs might keep lists of the patients to whom these primary medical services arrangements apply but this is not a legislative requirement.

NHS: Finance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what surplus or deficit he expects  (a) York NHS foundation trust,  (b) North Yorkshire and York primary care trust and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber strategic health authority to have at the end of the 2007-08 financial year; and whether he expects North Yorkshire and York primary care trust to have brought its expenditure in the 2007-08 year into balance with its income.

Ann Keen: The latest published information on year-end forecast outturn is for quarter three, 2007-08.
	North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) forecasted a year-end outturn position of 19 million deficit at quarter three.
	Yorkshire and the Humber strategic health authority (SHA) reported a forecast year-end outturn position of 268 million surplus at quarter three.
	The Department does not collect quarterly year-end forecast outturns for foundation trusts. Monitor is due to publish quarter three financial data for foundation trusts shortly.
	North Yorkshire and York PCT agreed a service modernisation and financial recovery plan with Yorkshire and the Humber SHA in April 2007 that outlined plans to return to financial balance in 2008-09 as well as the measures the PCT intends to take to achieve this.

NHS: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how funds from NHS underspends in the last five years have been re-allocated; and how he plans to allocate any underspends in the next 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: Surpluses generated by national health service organisations in any year are carried forward, and are available to spend in future years. In each financial year, resource adjustments are applied at strategic health authority (SHA) level equal to the value of the net resource carry forward for the overall SHA economy. SHAs are then responsible for managing the distribution of these adjustments to their individual NHS organisations according to local priorities. From 2007-08, following a change to the resource accounting and budgeting rules, this adjustment excludes under or over spends generated by NHS trusts.
	The NHS operating framework for 2008-09 states that the aggregate surplus delivered by SHAs and primary care trusts in 2007-08 will be carried forward to the next financial year.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS budgets will be amended in the years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 to take into account changes in planned expenditure in those years.

Ben Bradshaw: The national heath service budgets for 2008-09 are currently being finalised. The level of NHS budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be informed by decisions on the composition and growth to primary care trust allocations for these years.

NHS: Fraud

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were  (a) found guilty and  (b) acquitted of charges relating to fraud against the NHS in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many cases were referred by the NHS Counter Fraud Squad to the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many cases were investigated by the NHS Counter Fraud Squad in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS) pursues a multi track approach in all cases investigated. This includes the option of criminal prosecution. The CFS also seek civil recovery of losses to the national health service and investigation costs as well as a disciplinary sanction before the appropriate regulatory or disciplinary body. Of criminal prosecution cases, 95 per cent. have resulted in a guilty verdict.
	The NHS CFS does not refer cases to the Crown Prosecution Service.
	Information on investigation cases and prosecution outcomes is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Prosecution undertaken and defendant found guilty 51 70 56 68 82 
			 Prosecuted undertaken and defendant acquitted 2 4 4 3 3 
			 Investigations opened 339 429 305 272 409

NHS: Manpower

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) front line and  (b) other staff were employed by the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The number of front line staff is not collected centrally as the Department does not identify them as a separate group within the national workforce census staff groups.
	Frontline staff breaks down to comprise professionally qualified clinical staff, support clinical staff and staff in general practitioner's (GP) practices. Other staff comprises national health service infrastructure support and those staff with unknown qualifications.
	The following table shows the numbers of staff within the two categories for each of the last 10 years.
	
		
			  NHS Hospital Community Health Services and general practice work force as at 30 September each specified yearEngland 
			  Full-time equivalent 
			   Frontline( 1)  Other( 2)  Total 
			 1997 702,271 144,027 846,298 
			 1998 714,172 140,958 855,129 
			 1999 729,982 143,565 873,547 
			 2000 747,917 144,704 892,620 
			 2001 780,616 150,432 931,048 
			 2002 819,855 158,521 978,376 
			 2003 858,855 168,429 1,027,284 
			 2004 892,932 178,530 1,071,462 
			 2005 917,498 186,510 1,104,008 
			 2006 917,197 178,230 1,095,427 
			 2007 912,226 177,209 1,089,436 
			 
			 Change 1997-2007 209,955 33,183 243,138 
			 Annual percentage change 1997-2007 2.7 2.1 2.6 
			 
			 Change 2006-07 -4,970 -1,020 -5,991 
			 Percentage change 2006-07 -1 -1 -0.5 
			 (1) Frontline staff comprises the following staff groups: Consultants (including Directors of public health); Registrars; Other doctors in training; Other medical and dental staff; GPs (excluding retainers); Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, including Practice Nurses; Qualified Allied Health Professions; Other qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff; Support to clinical staff; and Other GP practice staff. (2) Other staff comprises the following staff groups: Central functions; Hotel, property and estates; Manager and senior manager; and Other non-medical staff or those with unknown classification.  Source: The Information Centre. All rights reserved

NHS: Radiography

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) radiologists and  (b) radiographers are employed by the NHS.

Ann Keen: The latest published workforce census showed there were 3,137 qualified radiology staff working in the national health service in England in September 2007, an increase of 1,130 (56 per cent.) since September 1997.
	The latest published workforce census showed there were 15,066 qualified therapeutic and diagnostic radiographers working in the NHS in England in September 2007, an increase of 3,295 (28 per cent.) since September 1997.

Non-British EU Nationals

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many  (a) non-British EU nationals and  (b) non-EU nationals worked in the East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (i) at the latest date for which figures are available and (ii) in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) non-British EU nationals and  (b) non-EU nationals worked for the (i) London, (ii) North East, (iii) North West, (iv) South Central, (v) South East, (vi) South West, (vii) West Midlands, (viii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (ix) East of England Strategic Health Authority (A) at the latest date for which figures are available, and (B) in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many foreign nationals from  (a) the European Union and  (b) outside the European Union are employed or contracted by the (i) East Midlands, (ii) East of England, (iii) London, (iv) North East, (v) North West, (vi) South Central, (vii) South East, (viii) South West, (ix) West Midlands and (x) Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority; and how many were employed or contracted by each in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The nationality of national health service staff is not collected. The NHS Workforce Census does record the country of qualification for medical staff, including general practitioners (GPs). This is not the same as the nationality as it is possible United Kingdom (UK) nationals to qualify outside of the UK and vice versa.
	The following table shows country of qualification for medical staff and GPs, this is broken by UK, European Economic Area (EEA) and those qualified elsewhere.
	No information is provided for the majority of NHS staff, as country of qualification data for non-medical staff is not collected.
	
		
			  All GP Practitioners (excluding GP registrars and GP retainers) ( 1)  and Hospital and Community Health Services: medical and dental staff ( 2)  by country of qualification and SHAEngland as at 30 September 2006 
			  numbers (headcount) 
			   England  North East  North West  Yorkshire and The Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East of England  London  South east Coast  South Central  South West  Special health authorities and other statutory bodies 
			Q30  Q31  Q32  Q33  Q34  Q35  Q36  Q37  Q38  Q39  
			  2003 
			 All countries of qualification 106,758 5,941 14,699 11,010 7,614 10,780 9,939 20,665 7,502 8,111 10,336 161 
			 Qualified within the UK 71,597 3,998 9,356 7,324 5,396 6,584 6,323 13,416 4,972 6,041 8,077 110 
			 Qualified within the remainder of the EEA 5,849 335 740 502 328 526 637 1,468 436 398 469 10 
			 Qualified elsewhere in the world 25,549 1,372 3,978 2,759 1,679 3,289 2,702 5,107 1,847 1,415 1,360 41 
			 Unknown country of qualification 3,763 236 625 425 211 381 277 674 247 257 430 0 
			  2004 
			 All countries of qualification 114,474 6,377 15,720 11,616 8,197 11,634 10,415 22,522 8,132 8,539 11,170 152 
			 Qualified within the UK 75,106 4,192 9,811 7,589 5,603 6,901 6,479 14,224 5,272 6,237 8,694 104 
			 Qualified within the remainder of the EEA 6,353 364 775 522 369 533 679 1,715 472 431 482 11 
			 Qualified elsewhere in the world 29,163 1,577 4,475 3,096 2,002 3,828 2,978 5,843 2,128 1,605 1,594 37 
			 Unknown country of qualification 3,852 244 659 409 223 372 279 740 260 266 400 0 
			  2005 
			 All countries of qualification 119,781 6,490 16,391 12,183 8,568 12,158 10,967 23,710 8,500 8,818 11,840 156 
			 Qualified within the UK 77,084 4,215 9,987 7,832 5,690 7,142 6,616 14,716 5,390 6,306 9,087 103 
			 Qualified within the remainder of the EEA 6,897 390 841 550 398 563 765 1,875 494 474 535 12 
			 Qualified elsewhere in the world 31,830 1,643 4,892 3,375 2,254 4,056 3,287 6,367 2,356 1,762 1,797 41 
			 Unknown country of qualification 3,970 242 671 426 226 397 299 752 260 276 421 0 
			  2006 
			 All countries of qualification 123,334 6,757 16,797 12,379 8,789 12,472 11,497 24,224 8,902 9,007 12,202 308 
			 Qualified within the UK 79,212 4,343 10,287 7,928 5,772 7,310 6,853 15,003 5,664 6,446 9,397 209 
			 Qualified within the remainder of the EEA 7,159 427 852 578 410 627 802 1,860 555 481 543 24 
			 Qualified elsewhere in the world 33,054 1,753 5,035 3,469 2,368 4,130 3,563 6,599 2,415 1,831 1,816 75 
			 Unknown country of qualification 3,909 234 623 404 239 405 279 762 268 249 446 0 
			  2007 
			 All countries of qualification 125,154 6,924 16,948 12,961 8,950 12,650 11,630 24,325 8,960 9,107 12,378 321 
			 Qualified within the UK 81,175 4,479 10,467 8,349 5,933 7,436 6,938 15,249 5,835 6,639 9,639 211 
			 Qualified within the remainder of the EEA 7,133 402 867 564 413 655 812 1,823 547 462 558 30 
			 Qualified elsewhere in the world 32,906 1,784 5,012 3,596 2,382 4,143 3,588 6,497 2,293 1,768 1,763 80 
			 Unknown country of qualification 3,940 259 602 452 222 416 292 756 285 238 418 0 
			 (1 )General Medical Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes GP Providers and GP Others (2) All dental staff are shown as Unknown within the table. Information about country of qualification is derived from the General Medical Council. For staff in dental specialties, with a General Dental Council registration, the country of qualification is therefore unknown.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Nurses: Disciplinary Proceedings

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to prevent someone from re-entering nursing in the NHS when they have previously been deemed unsatisfactory for the nursing profession.

Ann Keen: In order to work as a nurse, a person must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). If the NMC determines that a registrant is unfit to practise, they will be removed from the register and it would then be illegal for them to continue to practise as a nurse.
	If a nurse who has been struck off wants to get back onto the register, they cannot apply for restoration before a period of five years has elapsed. Before restoring a person to the register, the Practice Committee must be satisfied the person holds an approved qualification and satisfies the registrar that they are capable of safe and effective practice as a nurse.

Nurses: Training

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the levels of bursaries for student nurses.

Ann Keen: The Department provides non-repayable national health service bursaries and pays the tuition fees in full for the majority of nursing students undertaking programmes leading to professional registration. The NHS Bursary rates are reviewed annually and since 1998 the NHS Bursary has been increased each year, in September 2007 the uplift was 2.33 per cent.
	The Department has worked in partnership with stakeholders to develop a package of changes to update and modernise the current NHS student Bursary Scheme.

Obesity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population of  (a) England and  (b) Romford constituency that is clinically obese.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the proportion of the population of England that are clinically obese is collected in the Health Survey for England.
	Health Survey for England 2006: Volume 1 Cardiovascular disease and risk factors in adults pages 98-99 published on 31 January 2008 show that 24 per cent. of adults (aged 16 or over) in England were classified as obese. This publication has been placed in the Library.
	Obesity rates in Romford are not available.
	Neighbourhood statistics published in December 2007, provide estimated prevalence of obesity among adults aged 16 and over, along with associated confidence intervals for Havering local authority are shown in the following table. These estimates are taken from Model-Based Estimates of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours, and are for combined years 2003 to 2005.
	The proportion of people who are obese in Havering was not found to be statistically different to England.
	
		
			  Table 1: Model-based estimates of obesity prevalence, 2003 to 2005 
			   Percentages 
			  Havering local authority  
			 Estimated prevalence of obesity 22.0 
			 95% lower confidence interval 19.7 
			 95% upper confidence interval 24.6 
			   
			  England( 1)  
			 Estimated prevalence of obesity 23.6 
			 95% lower confidence interval 23.0 
			 95% upper confidence interval 24.2 
			 (1) The national estimate is derived directly from the Health Surveys for England 2003 to 2005 (with associated Confidence Intervals) and therefore is not a model-based estimate.  Source: Model-Based Estimates of Healthy Lifestyles Behaviours, 2003 to 2005. Neighbourhood Statistics, Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Patient Choice Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of general practitioner referrals to first consultant-led outpatient services were made through the choose and book system in each month since its inception;
	(2)  what are the latest available figures for the percentage of general practitioner referrals to first consultant-led outpatient services made through the choose and book system.

Ben Bradshaw: April 2006 is officially when the national rollout of choose and book began. National rollout was the commencement of primary care trust trajectory plans. The following table gives the percentage of general practitioner referrals to first outpatient services made through choose and book each month since national roll-out started.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 April 2006 9 
			 May 2006 13 
			 June 2006 18 
			 July 2006 21 
			 August 2006 25 
			 September 2006 26 
			 October 2006 26 
			 November 2006 30 
			 December 2006 30 
			 January 2007 31 
			 February 2007 37 
			 March 2007 38 
			 April 2007 36 
			 May 2007 35 
			 June 2007 36 
			 July 2007 37 
			 August 2007 37 
			 September 2007 39 
			 October 2007 40 
			 November 2007 41 
			 December 2007 41 
			 January 2008 44

Physiotherapy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of physiotherapists qualifying in 2007 who have not been employed by the NHS.

Ann Keen: The number of physiotherapy graduates from 2006 and 2007, registered in the newly qualified health care professionals pools, as looking for their first post in the national health service has fallen from a peak of 771 on 10 September 2007 to its current figure of 430 on 18 March 2008.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were prosecuted for illegally claiming exemption from NHS prescription charges in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost of prescription fraud to the NHS in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of people illegally claiming exemption from NHS prescription charges in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Since August 2001, a penalty charge system has been in place in respect of those falsely claiming exemption to national health service prescription charges. Financial recoveries are made in the first instance through a cost effective civil process rather than by criminal prosecution. There is an option for repeat offenders to be dealt with through criminal proceedings and to date there has been one criminal prosecution, in 2004.
	Information on the number of people falsely claiming exemption from NHS prescription charges and the cost of prescription fraud to the NHS is not available in the format requested.
	The NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS) undertakes fraud risk measurement exercises on a statistically valid number of prescription exemption claims. These exercises are repeated to capture reductions in losses due to anti-fraud work. The last such exercise in England took place in 2002-03. This showed the number of claims found to be fraudulent to be 1.6 per cent. and that the loss to the NHS through prescription fraud had been reduced from 117 million in 1998-99 to 47 million in 2002-03. A further risk measurement exercise will be undertaken in 2008-09.

Pressure Sores

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to introduce a preventative programme to reduce the incidence of leg ulcers;
	(2)  how many people were treated for leg ulcers in England in each of the last three years; and what the cost of such treatment was in each year.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally and there are no plans to introduce a national preventative programme.
	Tissue viability is a vital component of nursing care for patients, and one in which there is a strong body of evidence about effective treatment. Nurses receive training in this during their preparation for registration, and as part of their continuing professional development. They have access to specialist tissue viability nurses who provide training as well as expert advice in the care of individual patients.
	Essence of Care, published in 2003, sets benchmarks for pressure ulcers in health and social care settings, and helps health care professionals to devise appropriate care plans. A copy of the publication is available in the Library. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published detailed clinical guidelines on pressure ulcer management in primary and secondary care. It is the responsibility of local health bodies to ensure that this guidance is implemented.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last nine years.

Ben Bradshaw: Neither the Department nor its agencies have awarded contracts to Rackspace in the last nine years.

Radiography: Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors trained as  (a) radiologists and  (b) radiographers in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The number of junior doctors who trained as radiologists in the last five years are shown in the following table. The number has increased by 25 per cent. from 831 in 2002-03 to 1,035 in 2006-07.
	
		
			   Number of junior doctors training as radiologists 
			 2002-03 831 
			 2003-04 909 
			 2004-05 945 
			 2005-06 1,024 
			 2006-07 1,035 
		
	
	The number of training places for radiographers in the last five years are shown in the following table. The number has increased by 64 per cent. from 948 in 2001-02 to 1,555 in 2005-06.
	
		
			   Number of radiographers in training 
			 2001-02 948 
			 2002-03 1,227 
			 2003-04 1,411 
			 2004-05 1,461 
			 2005-06 1,555 
		
	
	Radiographers are Allied Health Professionals rather than qualified medical staff, and as such are not classified as junior doctors.

Redcar and Cleveland NHS Primary Care Trust: Finance

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much from the public purse has been spent on the part financing of the development of New Skelton Health, in the Redcar and Cleveland NHS Primary Care Trust.

Ann Keen: Responsibility for local health services lies with the local national health service. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to plan, develop and improve services for local people.
	Details of the financing of the new Hillside Medical Centre can be obtained from the Redcar and Cleveland PCT.

Sanitary Waste Disposal

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what  (a) statutory and  (b) other guidelines apply to the disposal of sanitary waste in private care homes; and which body is responsible for monitoring compliance;
	(2)  whether sanitary waste is included in his Department's definition of clinical waste.

Ben Bradshaw: Statutory responsibility for environmental and waste legislation rests with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The management of waste, its storage, carriage, treatment and disposal and health and safety requirements are governed by legislation, including the Hazardous Waste Regulations and Lists of Waste Regulations 2005. The Environment Agency is the regulatory body for compliance.
	The Department has produced guidance document Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-01 Safe management of health care waste that includes advice on the disposal of sanitary waste appropriate to private care homes. The term 'sanitary' waste is defined as 'offensive/hygiene waste' in HTM 07-01. The guidance is applicable to all producers of health care waste and not only the national health service. A copy of HTM 07-01 is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicy/AndGuidance/DH_063274.
	'Offensive/hygiene' waste describes waste which is non-infectious and which does not require specialist treatment or disposal, but which may cause offence to those who come into contact with it, such as sanitary or 'sanpro' waste. The guidance provides advice based on assessment procedures to determine the medicinal, chemical, infectious and offensive properties of health care waste to ensure waste is disposed at appropriately licensed facilities.

Skin: Diseases

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to  (a) raise public awareness and  (b) provide information to health providers and general practitioners regarding the skin disease hidradenitis suppurativa;
	(2)  what steps his Department plans to take with regard to hidradenitis suppurativa;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who have hidradenitis suppurativa;
	(4)  what his estimate is of the cost to the public purse of NHS treatment and other support for individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The Department has made no estimate of the number of people living with hidradenitis suppurativa, or the cost of treatment and support provided.
	The Department has not taken steps to raise public awareness of this condition. Information for health professionals has been made available on the Clinical Knowledge Summaries website at:
	www.cks.library.nhs.uk.
	It is the responsibility of health professionals, using their clinical judgment, to provide the most appropriate treatment for those diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa. This may include, for the most severely affected, referral to a specialist in dermatology.

Smoking: Telephone Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people called the NHS smoking helpline in 2007.

Dawn Primarolo: The national health service smoking helpline received a total of 234,709 calls in 2007. Of these calls, 82,442 are described as interactive calls. Interactive calls include calls that have a positive outcome where helpline advisers have either had a conversation with the caller or the caller has made a request for information.

Surgery: Disease Control

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surgical procedures were carried out by NHS hospitals in each year since 2000; and how many of these were followed by an episode of  (a) MRSA,  (b) clostridium difficile and  (c) norovirus.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally

Surgery: Disease Control

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many surgical procedures were carried out in GP surgeries or other non-hospital patient centres since 2000; and how many resulted in episodes of  (a) MRSA,  (b) clostridium difficile and  (c) norovirus.

Ann Keen: Data on the number and outcome of surgical procedures carried out in general practitioners surgeries or other non-hospital settings are not available.

York NHS Hospital: Finance

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much capital funding was spent by York NHS Hospital in each year since 1996-97; what capital projects have been implemented at the hospital costing 1 million or more since this date; and on what date work on each project commenced;
	(2)  how much capital funding was spent at York NHS Hospital between 1986-87 and 1995-96.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, information for the York Hospitals Foundation Trust from 2000-01 onwards has been set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Capital expenditure for York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 
			  000 
			   Gross capital expenditure  Buildings excluding dwellings  Assets  under construction and payment on accounts  Plant and machinery  Information technology  Equipment 
			 2006-07 8,280 2,822 2,115 2,951 n/a n/a 
			 2005-06 14,887 11,085 1,311 2,014 n/a n/a 
			 2004-05 16,154 7,776 5,286 2,388 n/a n/a 
			 2003-04 11,344 2,581 3,199 3,040 2,009 n/a 
			 2002-03 10,383 2,126 6,294 1,064 n/a n/a 
			 2001-02 4,351 1,065 n/a n/a n/a 2,570 
			 2000-01 6,813 3,688 n/a n/a n/a 2,958 
			  Notes: 1. Data is not available before 2000-01. 2. Total capital spend figures include expenditure over all categories of fixed assets. 3. Individual projects cannot be identified as expenditure; it is reported by category rather than by project. Start dates for projects are not held. 4. Where expenditure in a category exceeded 1 million, the figures have been included. N/a represents where expenditure is less than 1 million, or data collection was not applicable under that category. 5. In 2000-01 and 2001-02, the analysis of equipment was simpler than in later years. 6. York Hospitals NHS Trust became a foundation trust on 1 April 2007.  Source:  Audited summarisation schedules for York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2000-01 to 2006-07 
		
	
	Information relating to capital funding and expenditure for the York Hospitals Foundation Trust for the years prior to 2000-01 is not held centrally. This information might instead be available direct from the trust itself.